Shadows of the Night
by singmyterridactylofmusic
Summary: Christine had it all living in New York City. When her fiance dies tragically she does what she can to pick up her life and start over by returning to her childhood hometown where she is soon caught up in circumstances much more dark and sinister than anything she's ever encountered before. Modern AU with supernatural elements. E/C & Raoul friendly. Rating will increase to M.
1. Prologue

**Quick note: Hi! Thanks for stopping by. My prologue is super ridiculously short, only about 4 pages, but the rest of my chapters are much, much longer. I know that a lot of people will turn away from a story for short chapters so I just wanted to throw that big out there.**

Thank you for giving this a chance, I have been told by multiple people that you won't regret it.

* * *

**Prologue**

_"There are creatures who have strayed from some unknown region of haunted woods and perilous wilds. They dress like us, pretend they belong to mankind, profess to keep our laws and code of morals,  
but in their presence we are always are that they are phantoms and that their ideas and actions are out of key with the general pitch and tone of normal life._

_Though they seem sinister in nature due to their grim reaper likeness it is still unknown who or what these creatures are. Few reports, if any, have surfaced of them bringing death or sorrow to anyone but, on the contrary, never have I heard of someone getting a good feeling from them._

_I would like to say to anyone who has seen these 'shadow people' that it is a worldwide phenomenon and though you may not be in any danger there is a reason they have taken an interest in you."_

_- Nadir Khan.  
National Paranormal Research Convention.  
May 23, 2009._

* * *

Christine Daaé slowed her car to a stop next to the all too familiar field and rolled up her windows. She had grown a bit nervous during her drive and thought that the cool air on her skin might have provided her some relief. She was wrong. It instead had just made her look almost as disheveled as she felt and the damp feeling in the air had made her skin feel like a sticky mess.

She pushed her sunglasses up on her head to hold her hopeless hair away from her face and quickly reapplied a clear lip balm to her lips. She wanted to blame the dryness of her mouth on dehydration and not on her nervousness but unfortunately she knew better. She had been dreading this moment since she had made her decision a month ago. She wasn't exactly sure what had made her wait until the last minute to tell him but here she was, out of time.

She ran a quick hand through her hair in an attempt to reclaim control over her nearly unruly dark curls and glanced at the clock.

6:43pm.

Perfect. Sunset was due at 7:23 and he wouldn't want her out here after dark. It was getting pretty cloudy anyway and the prospect of spending hours on the grassy hill pleading her case to deaf ears in the rain didn't seem exceptionally pleasing to her.

It was going to be hard, she had no doubt about that, but she knew that she needed to be strong and do what was right.

With a steadying breath she opened her car door and stepped outside. Almost involuntarily her eyes swept to her right and she saw him immediately. It was ridiculous how the sight could still stir up the butterflies in her stomach so easily even after being stuck in this situation for what seemed like forever.

_It's okay_, she told herself, _it'll all be over soon._

She kept her eyes downcast as she began that desolate walk that she had come to despise. She had memorized the names etched in the stone slabs that outlined her way to their meeting place a long time ago and had often wondered if anyone ever came to visit them. There were never any flowers or mementos, she had never even seen another person on her numerous visits, it was always just the two of them. It was unbelievably dreary and she knew that if it wasn't for his presence she never would have been able to endure it.

She glanced up and her mouth formed a timid smile as she reached him. He stayed as cold and still as ever. The tension and anxiety within her was back and stronger than ever and it took all of her courage to continue on, to do what she needed to do.

"Hey," she kneeled down and took her normal spot on the grass, "sorry for not getting here sooner, traffic was kind of crazy." The only sound that met her ears was that of a bird off in the distance somewhere practicing it's song. "I know that I should have been here sooner but some things have come up recently that I've had to take care of."

She paused, he remained silent.

"My father," she began again, "he's not doing very well. He fell the other day. The doctors say that the Parkinson's is progressing, that he's moved in to the next stage or something. They've tried so many medications and therapies but there's really not much that they can do. He can't live on his own anymore and they don't know how long he has left."

Nothing.

She took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"I have to go and take care of him." Her words quickened along with her heartbeat. "My father needs me and I need to be there. What kind of daughter would I be if I stayed in New York while he was laying in a bed in some nursing home alone with no one to even visit him? If I go back then I can take care of him at home. He'll be more comfortable and... and..."

She had been hoping for more time before her tears came.

"It's been six months!" The words were bitter on her tongue as her emotions overwhelmed her. "It's been six months and nothing, _nothing_ has changed! It's not getting any easier and everywhere I look I'm reminded of you and us and..." she angrily swiped at the tears running down her cheek. "I can't do this anymore. It's not good for me. I need a change of scenery. I need something to focus on that isn't you!"

Silence.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to settle down.

"I know that you see this as running away," she said quietly, "I know that you're disappointed and that you probably think that this is a mistake but I need to do what is best for me. I can't keep living in the past and staying here is forcing me to do that. Maybe I'll come back someday but right now... I can't stay here anymore."

She looked down at the delicate diamond ring that had adorned her finger for the better part of the past year. She knew that this was going to be the most difficult part of this entire evening. She remembered the exact moment he had given it to her, everything had been so perfect. She had never seen his face light up the way that it had when she had managed to mutter a quiet 'yes' through her tears moments before he swept her in to his arms and off of her feet.

It was amazing how so much could change in a matter of moments.

She took a deep breath as she wrapped her fingers around the band of white gold and gently removed it from her person. She could not bear to look at it. Tears fell from her eyes with renewed vigor as she bent forward and met her lips to the cold marble slab that bore his name in a gentle kiss.

"I love you, Erik." She whispered as she let her forehead rest against the headstone and gently placed the ring on its base. "I always will."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she slowly stood and began the short walk back to her car. She was so wrapped up in her grief that she never noticed the dark figure emerge from the tree line not ten yards away as it quickly swept up her engagement ring before returning to its place in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 1

**Quick notes: **

**1. In the beginning there will be a good number of flashbacks. Their main purpose is to show you how life was before Erik died. I'd like to think that when something is a flashback it will be pretty obvious but I also wanted to avoid any confusion. **

**2. I promise that this is an E/C story & though it may take a little while for our phavorite Phantom to show up the E/C will not only occur in the way of flashbacks.**

**3. This will be Raoul friendly. I love Raoul. I love Raoul and Christine's friendship. Raoul and Christine as lovers has just never interested me. I see the appeal, it's just not my thing.**

**4. Erik does not have a mask or deformity in the flashbacks. **

**5. I see my E/C as Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, you are welcome to visualize them as any pair you'd like.**

**A big, huge, ENOURMOUS thank you to my lovely friends Gina , Sierra, & Allison. Without the support and help from you guys this thing never would have happened.**

* * *

** CHAPTER 1**

They were running late, really late. More specifically she was running late and Erik had been leisurely leaning against the half wall that divided their small kitchen from the living room reading from one of her Music Theory II text books for the past five minutes. He could hear her opening and closing the bathroom cabinets in an obvious rush and couldn't help but laugh at the curse he heard fall from her lips. Christine was usually very punctual, she had never been even a minute late for a single class, but traveling always seemed to bring out her disorganized, frazzled side.

He looked up just in time to see her, dressed in nothing but a towel, rush from the bathroom and down the hall to their bedroom. He looked at the time and pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket to send a quick text to the elder de Chagny brother.

_Running late. Order without us._

This was going to take a while.

He turned towards the pantry and grabbed a couple of granola bars from the top shelf. He tossed them in to one of her bags and began to fix himself a bowl of cereal, there was no way that they were going to make it to the cafe in time to grab a bite with the rest of their friends and he knew that a hungry Christine was a grumpy Christine.

Their apartment wasn't much, a one bedroom one bathroom number with exposed brick on the eight floor of the DeLargo Apartments Building. They had moved in together a few months prior when the terrible roommate that her school had provided her with had stepped far over the line and Erik had found himself unable to let her return to such tumultuous living conditions. She had come home with him that night and simply never gone back. They had lived in his studio apartment for a month and a half before they were able to find the one bedroom one bath place a few streets away from the theater district but they were quick to snag it when they did. It was still pretty small and at times the noise from the city streets below them was troublesome but it was _theirs_.

He heard the bedroom door open and her frustrated sigh come from the hallway just moments before she rushed past him and in to the living room. She didn't even acknowledge his presence as she raced toward the closet by the front door and dropped to her knees.

"Looking for something?" Erik asked as he continued to eat his cereal.

"I can't find my hiking boots." She explained as she rushed from the closet and to the other side of the room. "They're missing and so is my hair stuff."

"Hair stuff." He repeated as she kneeled and looked under the couch.

"Yes," she said, "the kind that makes my hair not so..." she made an explosion like gesture with her hands. "If I don't find it I'm going to look like Cousin It all weekend."

"Especially if you're also barefoot."

She stopped what she was doing and glared at him from across the living room and he couldn't help the smirk that overtook his features. With her wet hair bouncing around her head and naturally framing her face she looked like some sort of fairytale creature, a wood nymph he thought, and he couldn't have taken his eyes off of her if he tried. The fact that she was still wearing nothing but a towel certainly didn't make things easier.

"What?" She asked with annoyance etched in her words as she noticed him giving her an extensive once over.

"Nothing." She saw his jaw clench slightly as he turned away from her.

"No," she rose to her feet, "you have something to say. What is it?"

"It's nothing." He could hear her coming closer and he attempted to occupy himself with cleaning his empty bowl.

"Tell me," she put her hand on his arm, "I want to know."

He turned on her suddenly and in one quick motion he had lifted her from the floor and propped her up on the kitchen counter. His mouth had already found hers by the time she was settled and he wasted no time in stepping between her parted knees. He pulled her body flush against his and she could feel his need growing against her.

"Leave your hair down." He muttered as his mouth found its way from her mouth to her neck. She gasped at the sensation of his lips and tongue and teeth delivering sweet torture to her sensitive skin as the hand that wasn't at the small of her back tangled itself within her hair.

"Erik," she panted as she put a hand to his chest.

"Christine." His voice was practically a growl and she almost hated herself as she gently pushed him away. His eyes immediately met hers and a look full of both concern and confusion was written clearly across his perfect features. "What's wrong?"

"We can't do this right now," she said as she gave his lips a quick peck in an attempt to ease the blow, "we're already late."

"We're about to spend three days in the woods with four other people." His voice was serious and stern. "There will be no doors, no walls, no nothing. The only privacy we're going to get is inside a very thin canvas tent."

Christine's eyes never left his as his words sunk in. "We can be a little later."

She barely had time to register his smile before he swept her up in to his arms again and quickly took them to the bedroom.

* * *

"Alright, I think that's the last of them." Phillip de Chagny said as his younger brother, Raoul, loaded what seemed like the millionth box in to the moving truck.

"Thank god," Jamie said as Phil took a spot sitting next to her on the steps leading up to the DeLargo building. The doorman looked a little peeved with the group of twentysomethings that had been loitering there for the past few hours but to his credit he said nothing of it. Someone was obviously moving out of the building and the back doors leading to the alleyway had been locked to the public for months, what good would his complaining do?

"I didn't think we'd ever get all of those boxes out." Tara commented as she took a sip of the lukewarm water that had been sitting in the van all day. "Ugh, gross."

"Here." Phil tossed her a new one from the small cooler he had brought along with him and she gave him a quick 'thank you' before quickly drinking half of the bottle.

"Did you load the ones with the X's on them in to Phil's van?" Christine asked Raoul as he pulled the rolling back door of the moving truck shut.

"Yeah," Raoul answered, "all packed and ready to go to the homeless shelter down the street."

"And the furniture?" She asked Tara and Jamie.

"We'll be taking it to the storage locker tomorrow." Tara said before Jamie cut in.

"Dean Peterson already gave the okay to have it sold during the silent auction at the end of the semester. All the money we make from it is going to go towards the music department."

"Yeah, maybe now we can get some microphones that actually work more than half the time."

Christine smiled at the group of friends that she had spent the majority of her time with since she had moved to New York three years ago. She had known the de Chagny brothers since they were children. She and Phil hadn't been close growing up, he was a few years older than she was and didn't really like the idea of spending the summers at his grandparents' house playing make believe with two little kids, but the two of them had bonded considerably throughout her relationship with his own best friend.

She and Raoul, on the other hand, were thick as thieves from the day that they had met. Every summer they would be inseparable and in their awkward teenage years they had even made a go at being something more. In the end their friendship had won out and had luckily been quickly rekindled after their failed attempts at a misguided romance.

It had always been sad when the de Chagny boys left for home in late August and both had been tickled to death to find out that their little Christine Daaé was making her way to the big city.

She had met Jamie and Tara later in life as she started college. They had all been music majors and through sharing similar schedules the three had become fast friends. When Jamie met Phil the sparks had flown immediately and at one point Raoul and Tara had placed bets on which couple in their small group would get married first.

Raoul had almost won that bet.

"Hey, how about we order some pizza?" Phil asked suddenly. "We could take it up to the apartment and have one last lunch together, for old time's sake."

"Yeah, that sounds good!" Jamie said quickly.

"I could go for a bite."

"What do you think, Christine?"

She glanced back at her apartment building and her eyes moved up to what was once her own tiny balcony. She could handle going back in there one last time, right? "Yeah, okay." She said with a nod. "It's still my place for four more hours, why not?"

"Great, Raoul's buying!" Phil said as he jumped to his feet and grabbed the handle of the clear glass door. He held it open, much to the doorman's chagrin, and let the rest of the group file in before rushing inside himself and meeting the rest of the group at the elevator.

* * *

The food had taken a little bit longer than usual to arrive and by the time it did the entire group was starving. They had already boxed up all of her silverware, plates, and glasses but nobody seemed bothered by that as they devoured the pizzas slice by slice. Their entire order was gone within fifteen minutes of its arrival and Phil was on the verge of what he liked to call a food coma.

Christine was in the middle of cleaning everything up when she heard another person step on the linoleum floor that made up the kitchen. She turned and wasn't at all surprised to see that Raoul was standing behind her with the rest of the garbage he had collected from their friends in the living room.

"Thank you." She said as she held the half full trash bag out to him.

"Don't mention it." He said as he dropped his gatherings in. "Hey, I hope this isn't weird or anything but could I use your shower before we go? I worked up quite a sweat moving things and frankly I wouldn't want to spend the next eight hours in a truck with me."

"Sure." She tied the bag closed and tossed it on to the kitchen counter. "I think Jamie and Tara left those decorative towels in the bathroom for when the landlord decides to show the place."

"That'll do fine." Raoul said as he turned to make his way to the bathroom.

"The spout is kind of wonky in there." Christine replied as she followed him. "You kind of have to jimmy the-"

The sound of her bedroom door squeaking open from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

She turned slowly and couldn't help the cold feeling spreading from her core. Everyone was in the living room, she could hear them talking, who could have possibly opened that door? She took a few tentative steps forward and slowly pushed it the rest of the way open. The moment she stepped inside she knew that she wasn't alone. There was this... feeling, a prickling at the back of her neck that made her hair feel like it was standing on end and an almost electric tingle running down her spine. There was a static in the air, a slight high pitched buzzing that sounded almost as if someone had left a muted television on.

She glanced fearfully around the room before her gaze finally locked on the closet door. Whatever was causing this feeling was in there, she had no doubt about it, and the utter need to discover what it was quickly became unbearable. She slowly stepped forward and felt her arm raise seemingly of its own accord toward the small wooden knob on the outside of the door.

"Christine?"

At the sound of Raoul's voice the feeling disappeared and she spun on her heel to face him. She was breathing heavily and only now felt the light sweat that had accumulated on her brow. Raoul was looking at her with obvious confusion that must have perfectly mirrored her own. Before he could say another word she quickly turned and threw the closet door open.

There was nothing.

"...What?" She whispered to no one but herself. She barely noticed Raoul as he walked further in to the room and met her at the closet.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She was so certain that something had been there. The feeling had been so strong, so intense that there was no way that the closet could just be empty.

"Christine?" He put a hand on her shoulder and the physical contact finally pulled her out of... whatever that feeling was and back in to reality. It took her a minute to take in the sight of his wet hair and slightly pink skin and she realized that he had already taken his shower. How long had she been in there?

"Yes." she said finally. "Yes, I'm fine. I thought that I might have a towel or something left in here for you."

"Don't worry about it, the one in the bathroom was fine." She couldn't help one last look at the closet. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Raoul." She nodded and put on her best attempt at a smile.

"Okay." It was obvious that he wasn't convinced but he seemed to think better of pushing the issue. "We should get going, we've got a long ride ahead of us."

"Yeah," she agreed, "let's get this show on the road."

He put a hand to the small of her back and lead her out of the room. As she turned to close the door one last time she could have sworn she saw a dark shadow move quickly from under the bed but quickly dismissed it as some sort of hallucination brought on by the stress of the day.

Besides, she thought to herself, even if the apartment was haunted it wasn't likely to follow her to Ellisburg.

* * *

Saying goodbye to her friends hadn't been as bad as she thought it was going to be. She had hugged each of them individually and exchanged promises of phone calls and visits as soon as possible. Raoul had offered weeks ago to make the long drive to Ellisburg with her, an offer that she would forever be grateful for. Eight long hours alone with her thoughts was not something that seemed particularly exciting to her at the moment.

They had treated the entire thing like a road trip, something they had done quite often during the summers between their high school years when the monotony of Ellisburg had begun to bore them. They had packed the front of the moving truck with snacks, soft drinks, and more CDs from their childhood than they could ever possibly listen to and headed out. It was easy to fall back in to the calm comfort that her childhood friend provided her and for a few hours she was able to pretend that everything was okay, that she was seventeen again and looking forward to her senior year and joining Raoul and a ton of their other friends for a weekend trip to the beach to celebrate the summer.

All too soon she saw the sign.

_Welcome to Ellisburg_, it said, _Where Our Home Is Yours_.

A feeling of unease washed over her and Raoul turned down the radio as they continued on toward her house. The town was exactly how she remembered it, the same stores lined the sidewalks and the same houses stood as tall and stoic as ever. It wasn't long before they reached the small house on Lombard Street a mere ten minutes walk from the city center. The short driveway was looking a little worse for wear but the house seemed just the same. The white siding looked bright and vibrant and the dark red shutters still stood out the way that they always had. The front porch had what she assumed was this morning's paper sitting on it and the large white pillars on either side of it seemed to be holding strong.

Raoul pulled the truck in to the driveway, careful to avoid the nicely sized divot on the left side, and shifted it in to park. They were both silent as they looked up at the house and he could almost feel the nervousness radiating from her body.

"If you're not ready to go in there yet," Raoul started, "you know, if you need one more night..."

"No," she said quietly, "I need to get this over with."

Raoul nodded and removed the key from the ignition. He let her take the lead and only moved to exit the truck when she did. He was immediately grateful for her forethought in bringing a couple of jackets with them as he pulled his own around him. Ellisburg had a tendency to be particularly brisk in early April.

She walked steadily toward the house and Raoul had just caught up with her when she reached the front porch. She pulled an envelope from the purse slung over her shoulder and removed the key that had been sitting inside. He noticed the slight shake of her hand as she unlocked the door but didn't mention it. He could only imagine how tough this entire situation must be for her and despite the fact that she wasn't bringing her father home until the next day he knew that she was nervous about what she would find inside the house.

She opened the front door and the pair made their way inside. Everything looked pretty much the same as the last time she had seen it. The stairs leading to the second story were still the first thing she saw when she entered and the closet to the left of it still had the same dark cherry wood door that matched the banisters. To her left was the dining room, a space that was hardly ever used, and to her right the living room. Deciding to take a look at the latter she turned and took her time making her way inside. The couch was still the same one that she remembered her father buying when she was sixteen but the love seat was gone. In the spot where the missing furniture once sat was what she could only assume was her father's unmade bed.

"He did say that he had trouble using the stairs." Christine said quietly.

"He is closer to the kitchen now," Raoul said as she put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "you know he's probably very happy about that."

Christine turned and gave him a sad but grateful smile before continuing their trek through the house. The kitchen looked the same and she could still see the small creek that ran through the backyard just past the tree line from the sliding glass door.

"Raoul, look." She said excitedly. "Do you remember the time that Andrew Larsons fell in to that thing?"

Raoul laughed. "Yeah, he was trying to catch that frog and lost his balance and said that you pushed him."

"Yes! It took both of us and Phil to convince him that we had been on the other side when he fell!"

"He didn't come over for three days after that because he was so embarrassed."

"I wonder if that thing we used to pan for gold is still in my room." Christine wondered aloud.

A sly smile grew on Raoul's face. "There's only one way to find out."

Without warning they each suddenly took off running through the kitchen and dining room heading towards the stairs. Raoul had gained a slight lead on her but the moment she started taking the steps two at a time she easily managed to slip past him. When she got to the top she took a sharp left and ran straight in to her old bedroom.

"Oh, my God." She said as she burst inside. She heard Raoul's laugh as he entered the room and they both looked around at eighteen year old Christine Daaé's living space. The walls were cluttered with various pictures from different magazines and a large painted poster of Paris' Eiffel Tower hung above her full sized bed. "This place hasn't been touched since I left."

"Obviously." Raoul said as he pointed to a picture of Johnny Depp on her wall. "Remember the crush you had on him?"

"Don't bring it up." She said as she walked toward the shelves that lined the wall above her old desk. She surveyed the collection of knick knacks and random memorabilia from anything and everything she had ever loved as a younger girl and quickly found what she was looking for. "Found it!"

"Oh, boy." Raoul laughed as he moved away from the television and DVD rack that he had been looking through. "All I can think about when I see that thing is when you thought you had found a dinosaur bone with it only to find out it was a bird's skull and you cried for about an hour."

"No," she said pointing a finger at him, "I cried when Anna Thompson took it from me and broke it!"

"Right!" He said. "She felt so bad that she cried with you!"

"I wonder if she's still in town," Christine said as she put the pan back on the shelf, "I haven't spoken to her in forever."

"If you see her you've got to tell her that she owes you a bird skull."

"That's disgusting." Christine walked over to her bed and flopped down upon it. The sheets must have been freshly washed because she could still smell the floral scent of the dryer sheets on it. She felt the bed shift as Raoul came and laid down next to her. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, both exhausted from their long car ride, and stared at the ceiling above them. "Thank you for coming with me." She said quietly.

His hand found hers on the bed and he gave it a tight squeeze. "Don't mention it."

With a sigh she sat up and he followed in suit. "Ready to get me moved in?"

He groaned pathetically but the moment she left the bed and headed for the door he followed in suit. "Do you have some sort of a plan here?" He asked as they walked down the stairs.

"I figured we could put the majority of the boxes in to the garage and just take my clothes and things to my room." She opened the front door and they made their way back to the moving truck. "He already has plates and silverware and all of that stuff but it just seemed like a waste to leave it all behind."

"Yeah, you should keep it." Raoul said as he went to open the metal door. "Huh, that's weird."

"What?" Christine asked.

Raoul gestured toward the empty metal loop at the base of the door. "I could have sworn I put a lock on here."

She shrugged. "Maybe it fell off on the way here."

"Maybe." Raoul agreed.

Christine moved toward the garage and it took her no time at all to recall the four digit code that opened the folding metal door and opened the garage up to her use. The first thing that she saw was her father's CRV. It was a dark silver color and since he was no longer fit to drive he had already agreed to let her have use of it. She peeked inside the front driver's side window and saw the keys sitting on the front seat. For a moment she was worried that he had locked them inside and wouldn't remember where the spare was kept but the door opened easily when she pulled on the handle. She grabbed the keys and placed them inside her coat pocket before shutting the door and moving to the other side.

She smiled when she saw the little red wagon sitting in the corner, it had been her favorite mode of transportation as a child and she couldn't believe that her dad had kept it all these years. Pushing away the thought that her father might be a pack rat, she climbed through the various boxes and lawn equipment and reached for the wagon. She carried it to just outside the garage before setting it down, grabbing the black metal handle, and walking it back towards Raoul at the truck.

"Think this will help?" She called as she approached.

Raoul chuckled. "Well, it'll be better than carrying everything one at a time."

One by one they stacked the boxes meant for storage in to the wagon and each time it was filled Raoul would pull them to their final destination as Christine carried the rest to her room. All in all it took them around an hour before they found themselves loading the last of the boxes in to the wagon and arguing over what they should get for dinner.

"We just had pizza earlier today," Christine said, "there is no way that I am getting it again."

"So you can get a sub or wings or something." Raoul said. "I'm only going to be in town for one night and you're depriving me of my favorite restaurant."

"Why can't we just get Chinese?" She asked. "You love Chinese, we both love Chinese."

"Because," he paused, "I don't know. I just don't want it."

"Well, how about we go to the grocery store and get some burgers or something and you can cook out on the grill?" She asked.

"Do you have charcoal?" Raoul asked. "Do you even know if you have a grill?"

"Of course we have a grill, it's right-" Christine paused as she looked down at the box Raoul had just put on the wagon. At her abrupt stop, Raoul turned and saw the large black X written in sharpie on the top of the box.

"Christine, I am so sorry." Raoul said as he dropped the box he currently held and went to grab the offending one. "I have no idea how that got in there. I'll take it back with me and-"

"Wait." Christine said as she dug around for something in her coat pocket. She pulled out the car keys and cut the tape holding the box closed down the middle. The first thing she saw inside was the black pea coat that had always been Erik's favorite. Raoul watched her cautiously as she removed it from the box and gently folded it over her arm. Beneath the coat was numerous t-shirts, a few pairs of jeans, and those old, worn, leather boots.

"Are you okay?" Raoul asked.

"I think I'd like to keep this one." She said quietly.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She put the clothing back inside the box and tucked each large cardboard piece under another until the box was shut again. She felt Raoul's hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him with a sad smile gracing her lips.

"We can get Chinese food if you want."

* * *

"I told you this was a good idea." Christine said as she dug in to her large plate of General Tso's chicken.

"It's not the worst decision you've ever made." Raoul said through a bite of eggroll. "I still say that was when you tried to dye your hair red."

"I wanted to stand out!" Christine defended her former self. "No one else in Ellisburg had red hair and I wanted to be the first. How was I supposed to know that Tracey McStarlanburg would screw up and make me look like a fire hydrant?"

Raoul laughed as he pictured a thirteen year old Christine with blood red hair.

"And if you want to talk about bad decisions let's not forget about the time that you and your brother-" Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a tiny 'o' as she jumped up from the table.

"What's wrong?" Raoul asked, instantly rising himself.

She rushed over to one of the drawers and pulled out a flashlight. Before he could repeat his question Christine ran towards the back door and opened it with a loud whoosh. A gust of cold air enveloped the warm kitchen as she exited and made her way across the back porch. Raoul pulled his jacket tighter around him and shoved his hands in to his pockets as he followed her. She was bee lining to the trees and for the life of him he couldn't fathom what she was looking for. She all but disappeared in to the tree line but he could just make out her silhouette pointing the flashlight up and looking towards the sky.

"Christine what are-"

"Look!" She called suddenly, pointing up in to one of the larger trees. "Raoul, it's still here!"

He quickened his pace and felt his smile widen at the sight of their tree house. It looked a little worse for wear and a couple of the planks that they had nailed in to the tree to use as a ladder had fallen and disappeared over the years but all in all it seemed to be in good shape. "Wow, would you look at that?"

"Come on!" She wasted no time in grabbing on to one of the planks and began the climb to their former fortress. Raoul rolled his eyes but followed her anyway, his smile never fading as climbed.

About half way to the top her foot made contact with a particularly soft rung and Raoul had to shield his eyes as it broke in half and the part she had dislodged descended to the ground. A startled gasp sounded from her lips as she momentarily lost her balance but Raoul's hand to the back of her thigh steadied her.

"Careful." He said as she leaned back a bit in order to give herself ample room to move her foot to the next plank. Once she was settled he removed his hand and before they knew it they were back inside their old hideaway.

"God, Raoul, look at this place." Christine commented as she let her feet dangle through the hole they had just climbed through.

"Yeah, it's roughly the same size as your apartment."

"Shut up." She laughed. "Remember all those campouts we used to have?"

"I have no idea how we managed to fit nine of us in here." He commented.

"We were a lot smaller then."

"Do you remember that time Phil and his friends used this place to hide out and get drunk?"

"Yes!" She laughed.

"Your dad caught them and instead of telling my grandparents he gave them a forty five minute lecture on the dangers of underage drinking."

"And then he made them come inside and drink water to rehydrate!" She shook her head as they reminisced and couldn't stop glancing around the place. "I can't believe I forgot about this thing."

"I can't believe we had a moon door before it was cool. We could have been making people fly for years!" Her snorted laugh was his only reply. "That teacher that made you cry your first day of college, we could have brought him back here and taken care of him Game of Thrones style."

"Raoul!"

"I want to see the bad man fly!"

She swatted him lightly on the chest and he took the opportunity to dramatically fall back and lay his upper body against the floor.

"God, you and that show!" She scoffed and leaned back to join him. She knew that the stray leaves that had filtered in through the small window cut in to the left wall would get in her hair and that her jacket would be a mess but at the moment she simply didn't care. For now she simply wanted to enjoy a happy moment with her best friend and pretend that everything was as simple as it had been all those years ago.


	3. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED/FAVORITED/GIVEN THIS STORY ANY BIT OF ATTENTION & SUPPORT!**

**It seems as though my updates will be every Sunday/Monday & then another on Thursday but they are always subject to change.**

**Super long flashback for you today. This is still a lot of world building. I know that it isn't the most exciting thing in the entire world but hopefully everyone will stick with me & see where this little monster goes.**

**Big thanks to my Special Pumba, Miss Ashleigh, on this chapter. Having a nurse friend is super helpful in more ways than one. **

**Also Gina is a jerk and brought me the song Through My Prayers by The Avett Brothers and… well it just goes really nicely with this story and it made us both very sad. GO LISTEN TO IT!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

The same four songs had been playing loudly throughout the apartment for the past two hours. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was still during the work day in the middle of the week Christine was sure that one of the neighbors would have come banging down her door by now. Her senior recital was in less than twenty four hours and she needed all of the practice that she could get. She was required to sing one song from four different eras of music and the entire thing could have been going a bit better.

Her romantic number was a breeze and she had been familiar with her baroque since she was seven. She had chosen to sing a song from a show that she and Erik had seen a few weeks past as her modern selection but she was still having trouble with her classical piece. She took a deep breath as the song began and prepared herself to try again. She was about half way through the first verse when she saw the front door open.

"Hey." She said as she quickly paused the music.

"Working on your recital?" Erik asked as he removed his jacket and folded it over the back of the couch.

"Yeah," she responded, "I'm still having trouble with my Queen of the Night aria."

"Show me." Christine restarted the song and prepared to sing along with the vocal-less track. Erik leaned against the shelving unit that housed the stereo and kept his full focus on her as she powered through the difficult music. Half way through her performance he pinpointed the problem and pushed the pause button before walking towards her.

"You're trying to project too much and you're pushing your airstream." He explained a familiar problem that she had needed to work through a few times in the past. "It's affecting your vocals as well as wasting the breath that you need to get through this."

Christine nodded. "Okay."

He put a hand to the small of her back and gently pushed forward. "Straighten your back. You're wonderful, Christine, show the audience your confidence."

She nodded again and took a deep few breaths as he walked back over to the stereo. He restarted the song and watched intently as she sang through it again. Her voice sounded less forced this time and she was able to conserve her air enough to get through the most difficult parts much more easily. She smiled triumphantly as the song came to an end, even she could tell that she had done well.

"Brava," he gave her a slow round of applause, "that was much better."

"Thank you." She said as she gave him a dramatic bow. He walked over to her again and placed a soft kiss to her temple. She smiled and the two of them walked hand in hand to the kitchen. She took a seat on one side of the island as he moved to the other and grabbed a couple of glasses from one of the cabinets.

"Phil called earlier," he said, "he wants to get together tonight for his birthday since he's going to be out of town this weekend."

"Really?" Christine asked. "It's a Wednesday night, isn't that a little weird for him?"

Erik shrugged and filled the glasses with ice and water from the fridge. "He wants to go to some club his firm is doing work for." He handed her one of the glasses and she took a sip. "Do you think you could pull yourself away from rehearsing?"

"I can't, I still haven't done my write ups and that's going to take me at least another couple of hours. You should go though."

"I could," he walked around the island and sat down on the stool next to her, "or you and I could head over to the school and rent out one of the practice rooms for the night like we used to."

"No," she shook her head, "it's my recital and it's my paper. You shouldn't be punished for my procrastination."

He took a sip of his own water before continuing almost offhandedly. "I've always wished we could fit a piano in here somehow."

"We'd have to get rid of the couch." She replied.

"I was thinking the desk."

She turned her head and saw that he was staring back at her waiting for her reaction. She raised an eyebrow at him as she noticed the smile that he was trying to hide. "You've put some thought in to this." She accused.

He shrugged. "Once or twice."

She laughed softly as she bumped her hip against his. "Seriously, you should go tonight. I'm just going to be alternating between singing and writing and that's not even fun for me, I can't imagine the torture it would be for you."

"It is an honor and a privilege to hear you sing."

"Oh, stop it." She rolled her eyes at his obvious joke. "Get out of my apartment."

"_Your_ apartment?"

"_Mine_," she said as she hooped her arms around his midsection, "just for the night."

He returned her hold and held her closely. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"Sing for _me_ tomorrow night." He said. "Forget about the teachers, the grades, the other students… Just sing for me."

"I always sing for you, Erik."

"Then it's a deal." He kissed her once more before releasing her and placing his glass in the sink. "I'm going to grab a shower."

"Okay."

With that he turned down the hallway and walked in to the bathroom. Christine grabbed her laptop from the couch before returning to the island and settling in for what was sure to be a long night. Christine spread her sheet music out in front of her as the computer came to life and she quickly got started. Half an hour passed by before she had even noticed and Erik was back in the living room wearing a pair of dark jeans, a black button down shirt, and his favorite pair of black leather boots. She looked down at her gray sweatpants and light blue tank top ensemble and nearly sighed, she kind of regretted her decision of not joining them that night.

He walked up behind her and rested his chin on her bare shoulder. "We shouldn't be out late."

"Wake me up when you get home."

He nodded and placed a gentle kiss to the base of her neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

She was startled awake several hours later by her cell phone ringing on the nightstand beside her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the clock, it was well past three in the morning. Raoul's name flashed in large white letters across the small screen of her cell phone and only then did the sickening realization that Erik still wasn't home hit her.

"Hello?"

"Christine!" Raoul's frantic voice pierced her sleepy sensitive ears. "You've got to come quick, there's been an... accident."

"What?" She asked, the lazy fog of sleep not yet releasing its hold on her. "What kind of an accident?"

"I don't know, they're taking him to the hospital."

Christine felt the jolt of adrenaline pulse through her as she sat up in her bed, all remnants of sleep leaving her at once. "Who?"

"Erik!" Raoul yelled. The moment his name left his lips she threw the blanket away from her and jumped out of the bed.

"What happened?" She asked as she ran towards the living room and collected her purse and keys.

"I don't know, he's been... attacked or something. They're taking him to St. Luke's. God, Christine, come quick."

"I'll be there soon."

She hung up the phone, slipped on the first pair of shoes she found, and flew through her front door as if the devil was on her heels. No thoughts of even locking up crossed her mind as she saw the elevator doors close ahead of her. She thoughtlessly elected to take the stairs. She all but flew down the steps and through the doors of her building and ignored the doorman's look of curiosity as she passed him. She ran to where her car was parked about half a block away and started it without a moments hesitation. It felt like forever before she saw the bright red cross adorning the outside of the hospital but she swung her car in to the first open parking spot she saw. She ran in to the emergency room, nearly skidding across the tile floor, and went straight for the reception desk.

"Can I help you?" The round, middle aged woman on the other side of the clear glass asked her lazily.

"Erik Allard."

The woman, Denise by the look of her name tag, raised her eyebrow at Christine's abrupt tone and gave her a quick once over. Christine was sure that she looked like a mess in the sweatpants and tank top she had been wearing all day, not to mention the way her hair must have been tossed around by both sleep and wind, but none of that mattered to her at the moment.

Denise began to type what Christine assumed was Erik's name in to her computer at a leisurely pace. "Your relation?"

"I'm his fiancée." She answered. "Please, can you tell me where he is? What happened-"

"Ma'am," Denise cut her off, "I'm sorry but unless you're the next of kin we can't tell you anything."

"Next of kin?" Christine couldn't help the raising of her voice, the nonchalance of this woman was infuriating! "He has no family! His mother-"

"Miss, you need to calm down otherwise I will be forced to call security."

"I'm sorry, I just need to-"

"Have a seat."

"Please-"

"Have. A. Seat."

Christine let out a frustrated sigh, turned, and took the first empty chair that she found. It was obvious that _Denise_ wasn't going to tell her anything and it seemed as if she had already made quite the scene if the way that the few other people in the waiting room were looking at her was indication. She ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to push the stray locks away from her eyes and tried to think clearly about what to do next.

"Christine!"

At the sound of her name she turned towards the door and saw her friends rushing inside. She ran towards them and Raoul immediately wrapped her in a tight embrace. "I got here as quickly as I could." She whispered in to his neck.

"I know."

"What happened?"

"Erik stepped outside to make a call or something, he was only out there for a couple of minutes." Raoul explained. "Phil went out to have a smoke and the next thing we heard was this screaming for help. I think it was Phil but..."

Christine turned her attention to Phil meaning to ask him what he had seen but the moment she laid eyes on him, however, all coherent thought left her mind and all she could focus on was the dark, dried blood stains covering his shirt, pants, and hands. She lifted her eyes and saw him staring back at her with a look in his eyes that made her heart drop. It was in that moment that she knew the situation was serious.

"We ran out there as fast as we could but there was nothing there, Christine!" Tara explained as the tears poured down her face. "He was just laying there on the sidewalk and there was so much blood. His face..."

"Tara!" Jamie snapped.

Tara's eyes turned to Jamie and a fresh wave of tears coursed down her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Jamie took Phil by the upper arm and steered him in the direction of the bathroom. Christine was struck by the way that Phil walked, he almost floated across the waiting room and he still hadn't said a word. She could only assume that he was in some form of shock and Jamie continued to lead him in to the bathroom like a lost little boy. Only once the door closed behind them was Christine able to pull her focus back to what Raoul and Tara had told her.

"What do I do?" She asked Raoul. "I don't know what to do. They won't tell me anything because I'm not family. He hasn't spoken to his mother in years, Raoul. He wouldn't want her here."

Raoul's eyes looked past her and landed on the reception desk and the terrible Denise. A look of determination crossed his features and he gave Christine's arm a slight squeeze. "Let me handle it," he said, "you and Tara go sit down."

Christine nodded and Raoul walked confidently up to the desk. She watched him for a moment and heard his quiet 'excuse me', but any words beyond that she could not make out. She turned towards Tara and muttered a quiet 'come on' before heading for a group of empty seats in the corner of the waiting room. After a few minutes Jamie exited the bathroom and approached Raoul at the reception desk. Instead of joining in on the conversation he was avidly taking park in with Denise, she began speaking to one of the other women behind the counter and was soon handed a hospital gown. After giving Christine a sad smile Jamie disappeared back in to the bathroom.

Tara and Christine sat in relative silence for what seemed like forever before Jamie and Phil finally left the bathroom and joined them in the corner. Phil had removed his shirt and the hospital gown that Jamie had acquired had taken its place. He still wore his jeans but all of the blood Christine had seen earlier was covered by the long garment. His eyes still held that lost look in them and he seemed a little pale but he was walking more normally now.

"Are you okay, Phil?" Christine asked as they approached.

Phil nodded but remained silent. He and Jamie sat down on the small cushioned bench next to Christine, Phil laying down with his head in Jamie's lap as Jamie ran her hands through his hair. Within the next few minutes Raoul returned and Christine was on her feet in an instant.

"What did she say?"

Raoul's hands found her upper arms and he clasped them gently. "They're prepping him for surgery." She felt her knees go weak at the new information but remained standing tall. "They've put a note in his file and the doctors are to come to you with any questions or information."

"Did they say anything about how he's doing, his condition?"

Raoul shook his head. "No, but at least when they know something then we'll know something."

Christine nodded and moved to sit back in her chair. "Thank you, Raoul."

"Don't mention it."

Everyone was silent for the next two hours. No doctors had approached the group and Raoul had only gotten up once to ask Denise if there was any news. He had been sent back to his seat empty-handed. Phil's head still rested in Jamie's lap and Tara was sitting folded up in the small chair with her arms tightly wound about her legs. Time was ticking by ever so slowly and Christine was getting antsy. She had been idly fiddling with her engagement ring the entire time and a thin red line had begun to form where the white gold had rubbed her skin with each rotation.

"Hey," Raoul said quietly, "I'm going to go and get some coffee. Do you want any?"

Christine sighed and rubbed her tired eyes with her hands. "Yeah, coffee sounds great right about now."

"Do you want to walk with me?" He asked. "Get up, stretch your legs for a bit?"

She nodded and the pair rose to their feet. Just as they were about to ask the rest of the group if they would like anything Christine saw a man in a long white jacket come from the Emergency wing and approach the reception desk. He spoke a few words to Denise and Christine's heart began to flutter as she motioned towards them.

Christine grabbed Raoul's arm and pointed toward the doctor. The rest of the group seemed to notice the man as well and they all got to their feet as he approached.

"Christine Daaé?" The doctor asked.

She took a step forward. "That's me."

"Miss Daaé," he extended his hand and her own clammy one joined it in an shaking embrace, "I'm doctor Reynolds."

"Nice to meet you." She said quietly, her manners becoming armor against the stressful situation.

"Could we have a word in private?"

Christine hesitated and looked back at the rest of the group. "If you please, Dr. Reynolds, I would like to keep my friends aware of Erik's condition."

Dr. Reynolds nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. "Very well. When the patient was admitted-"

"Erik." Christine corrected. "His name is Erik."

"When _Erik_ was admitted," he said, "he was in very serious condition. He had suffered severe internal damage as well as multiple deep abrasions to his face, head, and neck. It seems as if he was attacked by some sort of animal, my best guess would be some sort of large dog, but you must understand that in this area animal attacks are very, very rare. I've never seen anything like it."

Christine hung to his every word.

"He had lost a lot of blood, Miss Daaé, and we did absolutely everything that we could."

Christine felt her blood run ice cold.

"Despite our best efforts, Mr. Allard died at 4:43am. I am so very sorry."

Christine's knees buckled from beneath her and before she could even process what was happening she found herself in a crumpled heap on the floor. She felt a pair of arms envelope her and pull her to a semi-seated position as the tears streamed from her eyes with wild abandon. She was helpless to stop the horrible sobs that escaped her throat and she couldn't have cared less who heard the ugly noises she was emitting. Her heart felt as if someone had stabbed her in it and the rest of her body seemed to be in just as much physical pain. Her mind felt empty, completely numb to anything but the absolute turmoil of the news she had just been given. She wasn't sure how long she sat sobbing on the floor of the waiting room but it felt like an eternity.

She never made it to her senior recital.

She hadn't sung since.

* * *

It was noon by the time Christine and Raoul arrived at Ellisview General Hospital. Christine had told Raoul multiple times that he didn't have to come with her, that she could handle picking up her father on her own just fine, but Raoul de Chagny and Gustave Daaé had always had a very special relationship.

Raoul's own father had always kept a careful distance between his sons and himself. He was a very business oriented man and was away more often than not during Raoul's childhood. Phil had gotten a bit more one on one time with their father, he was the oldest and had always been expected to take over the family's company when the time came, but Raoul had found his own father figure in 'Gus'.

They made their way in to room 412 and the room seemed a lot brighter than she had expected. Gus was sitting upright in his bed watching the television and finishing up what seemed to have been a fruit salad that the hospital had provided for lunch. His head moved a little slowly as he heard the door open but he smiled wide as soon as he saw them.

"Christine!" She smiled and moved quickly to his bed to envelope her father in a tight hug. "How are you, my sweet girl?"

"I'm good, Dad." She said as she kissed his cheek. She pulled back and made room for Raoul to come over and say hello.

He followed her lead and leaned down to hug the aging man. "How are you, Gus?"

"A little worse for wear but I'll make it through." Raoul straightened up and took a seat in the recliner in the corner of the room as Christine claimed her spot on the bed next to her father.

"Has the doctor been in to see you yet?" Christine asked.

"Not yet," he answered, "but we've got an appointment at 12:30 so she should be here soon."

"How's she look?" Raoul asked with a grin. "Is Christine going to have a new stepmom?"

"You stop it, boy." Gustave said with a laugh. "I am far too old and ugly for all that."

"Please!" Raoul said. "You're only in your late fifties and I've seen your moves with the ladies, genuine heartbreaker you are."

Christine laughed as she listened to the back and forth between her father and the young man he treated like the son he had never had. He seemed to be in good spirits but she couldn't help but notice the constant back and forth rubbing of his thumb and forefinger of his shaking hand as he talked. It was almost as if he was rolling something around between his fingers but there was nothing there. She also noticed that he was a lot less expressive than he had once been, his usual hand gestures were noticeably absent and there was a very slight slur to some of his words.

"Have you not noticed the shakes, de Chagny?" Gustave asked as he raised his arm to show off the tremble in his right hand. "Real ladies magnet they are! Don't get me started on the drooling I get sometimes. Don't get old, Raoul."

His words were meant to be lighthearted, a joke at himself and his condition, but they held a small bit of truth to them in regards to how he must have felt about himself. Before Raoul could respond the good lady doctor herself walked in to the room.

"Sounds like we're having a genuine party in here, Mr. Daaé." She said as she grabbed his chart from its holder at the foot of the bed.

"Sorry doctor," he said, "my daughter and that hooligan over there just arrived."

Christine rose from the bed and moved toward the doctor. "Hi, I'm Christine."

"Dr. Lucas." She said politely taking Christine's proffered hand and giving it a quick shake. She then turned towards Raoul and extended the same hand to him. "And are you her husband?"

Gustave's sudden laughter startled everyone and Raoul shook his head. "No, just a close friend of the family."

"My apologies." Dr. Lucas said as she turned and looked over Gustave's chart. "Well, Gustave here suffered a nasty fall but seems to be doing rather well. He has a slight fracture on his hip that will more than likely cause him a bit of pain for the next couple of weeks but I am going to prescribe him a mild pain killer that shouldn't have any effect on his other medications."

Christine nodded. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure." She said as she wrote a few notes on the file. Instead of placing the file back in its holder Dr. Lucas folded it under her arm. "Miss Daaé, could we talk in private for a moment?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Don't leave me in here with him."

"What's the matter, Gus?" Raoul asked. "Afraid I'm going to take your fruit salad?"

Gustave waited until the door was securely shut behind his daughter and doctor before looking back over at Raoul. "How is she, Raoul?" He asked quietly. "I know she puts up a brave front but how is she _really_?"

Raoul sighed and leaned forward in his chair, he knew this conversation was coming. "She's doing... okay. It was really hard for her for the first few months. Hell, after the funeral it was hard to even get her out of bed, but I think she's been pulling it together lately. She's stopped wearing the ring so that's something."

"I should have been there." Gustave said. His tremor was getting a little worse and Raoul assumed that it had something to do with the stress of the situation. "You know I'd never even met the guy? My daughter, head over heels in love, ready to be married, and I never even saw his face."

"He was a great guy," Raoul said calmly, "a little rough around the edges at times but he loved her more than anything."

"I should have been there."

Raoul covered Gustave's trembling hand with his own and spoke in a soothing tone. "She had a wide base of support in New York, we were all there for her whenever she needed us. She knew you couldn't travel, she never blamed you for it, not even for a second."

"I can't believe she quit school." Gustave said. "She's been singing since she was three, she always loved music, I can't believe she just gave it up like that."

"Music was their thing," Raoul said, "they sang together all the time and I think that after... it happened..."

"It became too hard for her." Gustave finished and Raoul nodded. "She'll be okay here, right?"

"I think that some time away from the city will be good for her."

Gustave nodded and a tear formed in his eye as his tremor went back to the way it had been when they had first walked in. "You're a good kid, Raoul, I've always said that."

He shrugged and that same grin Gustave had come to know during the boy's childhood spread across his face. "You're not too bad yourself, big guy."

"Thank you for being there for her."

"Anytime." Raoul looked towards the tray beside Gustave. "Now seriously, give me some of that fruit salad."

* * *

Dr. Lucas closed the door behind them and lead Christine down the hall to her office. Christine followed behind her obediently and wasn't quite sure what was to come. Dr. Lucas motioned for her to sit down in the comfortable looking arm chair sitting before her desk as she took her place behind it. She pulled the file from under her arm and opened it up on her desk.

"I understand that you've been out of state for the past few years."

"Yes," Christine answered, "I was going to school in New York."

"I see." She said as she thumbed through the files and put a few of them to the side. "Miss Daaé, I just want to make sure that you understand your father's condition. There are several side effects and complications that can arise from Parkinson's Disease as well as the medications he is currently taking."

"Okay."

"Parkinson's Disease can be particularly... unbecoming, if you will. It usually starts with a slight tremor in one limb and eventually that tremor spreads to other parts of the body. In your father's case it started in his right arm and has since spread to almost his entire body. Usually your father's tremors are much more pronounced than they are today simply because we have kept him rather heavily medicated to help heal his fractured hip. The tremors may get worse during times of stress and his motions will be much slower than what they were years ago."

Dr. Lucas handed Christine a pamphlet with the simple title 'Parkinson's Disease' written in blue across the top of it.

"This pamphlet will give you a little more of the basic information on his condition but what I am mainly concerned about is warning you of what the future may bring. We have already seen evidence of his equilibrium and balance being a bit... off. His fall is a perfect example of that. He shouldn't be left alone to do any tasks that require long periods of standing and if at all possible stairs should be highly avoided."

"He's already had his bed moved downstairs."

Dr. Lucas nodded and continued. "You may notice some emotional changes. Parkinson's does quite the number on the brain and high levels of anxiety, as well as other heightened emotions, are not uncommon. He may have trouble sleeping and experience night terrors at times. He also may act out things that are happening in his dreams because his condition can prevent what we refer to as sleep paralysis from occurring."

Christine felt her own anxiety elevating as she listened to the doctor and looked through the pamphlet.

"I do not mean to scare you, Miss Daaé, I just want you to be prepared. If you believe that this is too much for you then there are plenty of assisted living homes-"

"NO!" Christine yelled suddenly, shocking both herself and the doctor. "No, I don't want him in one of those places. I can do this, Dr. Lucas."

She nodded. "Very well." She pulled out a prescription pad and quickly filled out a page before grabbing a business card from in front of her computer and turning it over to write what appeared to be a phone number on the back of it. "This is the prescription for the pain killer I mentioned and here is my card. I've written my cell phone number on the back of it. Do not hesitate to call if you feel the need to." She pulled one more page out of her father's file and handed it to her. "This is a list of your father's other medications that I have prescribed. He may get forgetful so I would suggest that you take over giving him his medications. The list should be pretty self explanatory but, like I said, if you have any questions or concerns please call me."

"Thank you."

Dr. Lucas nodded again. "Are you ready to take him home?"

"I am."

Dr. Lucas rose from her chair and moved towards the office door. She held it open and allowed for Christine to go ahead of her. She told her to head back to her father's room and assured her that he would be discharged within the hour. Christine returned to the room feeling completely overwhelmed but she knew that she had to this.

* * *

It was only a couple of hours later that Christine found herself saying goodbye for what felt like the millionth time that week. This one just so happened to be the hardest of them all.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay another night?" Raoul asked. "It'd be no problem, all I'd have to do is give the office a quick call."

"No, Raoul, I'll be okay." Christine opened her arms and Raoul stepped in to them eagerly. "Thank you so, so much for everything. I'll never be able to repay you enough."

"You don't owe me anything, Christine." He said honestly. "Just know that the second you're ready to come back, whether it be for a visit or for good, my doors are always open."

"I know." Christine pulled away and wiped at the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. "Be careful, okay? Let me know when you get home."

"I will," he said, "and if you ever need anything all you've got to do is ask. You might be a little further away than you used to but that doesn't change anything. You've still got me, Phil, Jamie, Tara... we're all still your friends."

Christine nodded. "Give them my love?"

"Of course."

They came together in one last embrace before Raoul gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed to the front of the moving van. The wind seemed to be picking up and it felt like a storm may be coming their way. Christine stood on the front porch until Raoul got the vehicle out of the driveway and gave her two quick honks of the horn. She waved him one last goodbye before turning and walking back inside.


	4. Chapter 3

**Uploading this a day early because I'm going to see Phantom on Broadway tomorrow & definitely wouldn't have the time to do it then.**

**A little more world building and a bit of action in this chapter. I'm kind of excited about it.  
I kind of apologize for making everyone cry but then again I'm not really sorry.**

Phantom girl: I will be trying to post every Sunday/Monday (a chapter one of those two days) and then again on Thursdays. Also, what is a phanfic without the mask? ;) 

**As always, a huge thank you to Gina for all of her help & support. 3 **

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

The sky was bright and clear that night. The stars were shining and the moon was round and full. The bugs were being kept away by the citronella candles that Jamie had brought and they hadn't come across any intimidating wild animals. It was a comfortable temperature and the wind blew just enough to keep it from being still. It was a beautiful night, perfect in many ways... and Phil was ruining it all with his stupid story.

"The boys ran through the woods calling their friend's name. 'Steve! Steve, where are you?! Come out, Steve!'" Phil shook his head. "Steve never answered."

"Wasn't his name Tommy last time?"

"Quiet, Raoul, you're throwing off my flow." The fire crackled and Phil continued. "They heard a splash coming from the lake and the two boys ran towards it thinking it was their lost friend. They found a beautiful woman in a long white gown. She was soaking wet, walking along the lake, singing a song in the most beautiful voice they had ever heard... even more beautiful than yours, Christine."

"Gee, thanks." She took a sip of her wine cooler.

"They came closer, they couldn't help themselves, they were entranced by her song. They got closer... closer... closer still..." He paused. "WHERE IS MY BABY?!"

Christine jumped as Phil' voice rose suddenly. Erik chuckled and pulled her closer under his arm.

"The boys were confused, they hadn't seen a baby anywhere. The woman reached for them but they took off running as fast as they could. Somewhere along the way they got separated and the first boy..."

"Jimmy." Raoul supplied.

"JIMMY heard his friend's scream come from somewhere in the woods behind him and then everything went silent." He leaned slightly forward, his voice just above a whisper. "Jimmy hid behind a tree. He was alone. He was terrified. He could hear someone coming closer..." He suddenly grabbed Jamie about the waist and she let out a startled squeal. "WHERE IS MY BABY?!"

Jamie swatted his hands away. "Jesus Christ, Phil!"

He sat back with a smirk. "Neither of the boys were ever heard from again."

Everyone gave Phil a slow clap as the story came to an end. Phil stood up and took a dramatic bow. "Thank you, thank you." He chugged down the rest of his beer before throwing an arm around Jamie's waist and pulling her up with him. "And on that note, boys and girls, I will say goodnight."

"That's probably a good idea," Raoul said, "we've got a pretty full day ahead of us tomorrow."

"If you have any plans other than sitting around drinking beers and swimming in that lake, little brother, you're going to be very disappointed."

"You promised that we'd go hiking." Jamie whined, she was always a little whiney when she was drinking.

Phil sighed and turned back to the group. "I guess we're going hiking." He spun around and picked Jamie up, an arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, and walked off towards their tent.

Christine felt Erik give her a light squeeze and she turned her head to face him. "Are you ready to head in?" She nodded and together they rose to their feet.

"Goodnight." Christine said to Raoul and Tara as Erik's hand found her own.

"Night, guys."

"Night."

* * *

It was _not_ a good night.

Christine's eyes fluttered open several hours later. The night around the tent was still as dark as could be and every single little sound she heard startled her. She knew it was stupid but she couldn't stop thinking about the story Phil had told them earlier. It was a myth, a legend, her sensible mind knew that it wasn't true but here in the dark it all seemed very real. Every tiny rustle was definitely La Llorona coming to find her children. To top it all off she was _very_ cold and the ground beneath her was hard and uncomfortable.

She turned on her side and faced Erik. He was only laying a few feet away from her but the distance felt like miles. His back was to her but she could tell he was sleeping by the soft, even movement of his shoulders as he breathed. She didn't want to do it, she felt stupid and immature for even thinking about it, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Erik?" She called softly.

He gave no response.

She moved a little closer to him, still keeping herself wrapped tightly in her sleeping bag, and tried again. "Erik?"

Still nothing.

Finally, and with no idea why the action made her feel so vulnerable or terrified, she unzipped her sleeping bag just enough to reach her arm out and tap his shoulder. He groaned as he rolled on to his back and turned to face her.

"What's wrong?" His voice was rough and sleep ridden.

She hesitated for a moment. "Do we have another blanket?"

_Smooth._

"...What?"

"I'm... cold."

There was a moment of silence that she could only take as Erik wondering exactly what she was up to before his body turned towards her and she heard him unzip his sleeping bag. He extended an arm across the ground and the other held the bag open to her. "Come here."

His voice was barely above a whisper but she heard it clearly in the quiet night. She unzipped her bag and quickly crawled in beside him. She heard him pull the zipper up behind her before he shifted so that she could lay her head comfortably upon his chest. Her hand came to rest next to her face and his arm wrapped around her body. His embrace was warm and safe, a stark contrast to the lonely cold that she had felt on her own.

"Were you worried that the lake lady was going to get you?" He asked as he closed his eyes.

"A little." She admitted.

She felt his chest vibrate with his soft chuckle. "It's just a story."

"I know." Her eyes fell shut and her voice lowered to match his whisper.

"Besides," he tightened his hold on her and she cuddled in closer, "I'd never let that old hag have at you."

"My hero." She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

She felt his soft lips against the top of her head as he began to lightly stroke her hair. It was mere minutes after he had begun to hum a song that she didn't recognize that the melodic vibration in his chest lulled her in to a peaceful sleep.

She did not sleep alone for the rest of the weekend.

* * *

The storm outside was going strong and the wind whipping through the trees made an eerie howling sound that combined frighteningly with the loud claps of thunder. Christine sat in the kitchen with a hot cup of tea as she read through the pamphlet Dr. Lucas had given her. Her father was fast asleep in the living room and Christine could hear bits and pieces of dialogue from some sitcom as it continued to play on the television. It was nearing eleven o'clock and she could feel her eyes growing heavy.

She stood from her chair with a yawn and grabbed her mug from the table. She had just placed it in the sink when a harsh crash of thunder shook the house and a bright white lightning bolt exploded across the sky. The entire house was cast unceremoniously in to darkness and the only sounds around her were from the raging storm outside. She reached for the light switch and jiggled it up and down a few times. She had forgotten how easily the power could be knocked out here.

She looked through the doorway and over at her sleeping father. He was completely unbothered by the blackout and continued snoring peacefully as she walked through the living room. Deciding that it was time for bed she made her way up the stairs and sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening that the power would be back on by morning.

The moment she opened her bedroom door she felt the presence.

It was the same feeling she had experience back at her apartment, the tingle was at the back of her neck and the odd static sound rang loudly at the back of her ears. It seemed much louder this time. She walked in to the room and slowly surveyed her surroundings for anything that could be causing the feeling of danger that settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't see anything odd and unlike the last time she felt no strong pull to one area or another.

She walked further in to the room and knelt down next to one of her unpacked boxes. She shuffled through it for anything that she could wear to comfortably sleep in but came up empty handed. She had just reached for a second box when she heard a low rumble coming from across the room.

She looked up just in time to see a long, human like shadow become illuminated by a flash of lightening as it stood in front of her window.

Her scream was covered by another loud roll of thunder and the shadow darted past her and through her bedroom door. It was faster than anything she had ever seen. She had no idea what made her scramble to her feet and take off after it, but that's what she did. She barely made out its quick motion as it fled around a corner and down the stairs without a sound. Christine's footfalls sounded like an elephant's in comparison as she ran after it.

A quick flash of black from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she immediately ran in that direction. No thoughts of giving up her chase crossed her mind as she followed it in to the pouring rain and howling wind outside. She wasn't sure if it was toying with her or if it was trying to hide but she was not about to let it get away.

She saw the solid black mass dart between two trees and started after it again. Half way in to the woods she spun on the heels of her bare feet and looked around frantically. In the total darkness she had lost the ability to make it out among the other shadows but she could still feel its presence all around her. Something in her made her look up and another flash of lightning revealed that whatever it was had made its way in to her very own tree house and was leaning through the window watching her intently.

The moment her eyes found it the creature ducked back inside and Christine ran to the ladder. In her rush to climb to the top she had completely forgotten about the plank she had broken earlier and as her foot landed on the little bit that remained it broke free and fell to the ground below her. She would have fallen with it were it not for the frigid hand that caught her around the wrist and held her suspended in midair.

She was stuck, locked in a sort of standstill with the creature as she dangled from its hold. It's shoulders were wide, it's grip was strong, but Christine could not see a face or any distinguishable features. The only thing she could make out was a pair of golden yellow eyes staring back at her unrelentingly.

All at once and out of nowhere she felt a paralyzing wave of fatigue overtake her entire being. She held no control over her body as it went limp, her mind went blank, and the world around her faded to black.

* * *

Christine shot up in her bed the next morning with a startled gasp. It felt as if not a single second had passed and she was quite disoriented for a moment by the presence of sunlight filtering in all around her. Her head whipped around, searching for anything that could be in her room with her, but she knew deep down that she was alone. She leaned back against her soft pillows and put a hand to her head.

What the hell had happened last night?

She remembered all the way up to that... thing in the woods grabbing her, saving her from certain injury, but after that there was nothing. She threw the blanket off of her and saw that she was wearing a clean pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. Her feet, which should have been a muddy and disgusting wreck, were as clean as the sheets beneath them. She had absolutely no recollection of even coming back inside, let alone changing her clothes.

Had that thing done it for her?

For a moment she entertained the idea that what had happened to her had been nothing but a dream but it had all seemed so real. She looked down at the wrist that she remembered it catching her by. It did feel a little sore but bore no marks or bruises. Had she slept on it wrong?

"I'm going crazy." She whispered to herself. That was the only logical explanation. She was going crazy from the stress of everything that had happened to her throughout the past year and it was manifesting itself as some sort of dark, helpful entity.

She shook her head and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She looked over at the clock and was pleased to see that not only was the power back on but that the clock had gone ahead and reset itself. She stepped out of the bed and found herself a pair of jeans and pink top to throw on after she took a much needed shower and headed to the bathroom.

She was downstairs within the hour. Her body still felt unnaturally tired but she forced herself to put a little pep in her step as she walked in to the living room. She had gotten very good in the months after Erik's death at putting on a strong face and pretending that she was better off than she was. If she could get through that agonizing time then she could certainly get over some stupid dream!

"Good morning." She said to her father as she passed.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said. "I wasn't sure you'd ever wake up."

Christine looked at the clock and then back to him in confusion. "It's only 9am, Dad."

"Is it?" He asked as he turned towards his own clock. "Huh, it seems later than that. I guess I must have woken up a little early this morning."

He chuckled softly but Christine noticed the way that his tremor became a bit more intense at the realization. She had read about Parkinson's patients being easily confused as well as their strange sleep cycles in her pamphlet.

"Hey, how about I make us some breakfast?" She asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Good luck finding anything in there." He said. "I haven't been able to make it to the grocery store for a while."

Christine opened the refrigerator door and instantly knew that what he said was true. He had the basic necessities like milk and a carton of eggs but the fridge was decidedly barren. She opened the freezer and found it to be in much the same shape. She grabbed the lone package of frozen waffles and closed the doors. She turned and looked around the counter tops but couldn't find what she was looking for.

"Dad, where's the toaster?" She asked.

"I don't have one."

"Then how do you make your waffles?" She sniffed the inside of the box to make sure they hadn't gone bad somehow.

"Microwave." He said. "It makes them soft and chewy, I like them that way."

That was one of the weirdest things she had ever heard him say. Deciding against saying anything she turned towards the microwave and set the box of waffles on the counter beneath it. She took one out and wrapped it in a paper towel before setting it in the microwave, he could have his chewy waffle and she would just pick something up when she went to the grocery store. Clearly that was a necessity.

She put a decent amount of butter on the waffle, cut it up, and delivered it to her father before heading back in to the kitchen and returning with a glass of orange juice. "I think I'm going to head in to town today and grab some things, do you need me to pick anything up for you?"

"I think I'm okay." He responded. "Oh! Would you mind running past the pharmacy? My medicine should be ready to be picked up."

"Of course." Christine picked her purse up off of the sofa and slipped her black flats on to her feet. "I'll be back in a few hours."

She walked through the front door, over to the garage, and climbed inside the CRV. It took a moment for her to regain her bearings, her own car back in New York was small and very rarely used, but everything about the large vehicle quickly came back to her from her learning-to-drive days as she put the key in to the ignition and started it up. It took a few moments but the engine turned over without much trouble and Christine let the car run as she fastened her seat belt. She could almost see the tree house from where she was and she couldn't help herself from looking in its general direction. She shook her head with a sigh and began to drive.

It took all of five minutes to get in to town and find a parking spot on the aptly named Main Street. Most of what the town had to offer in the way of shopping and entertainment sat on the long avenue that ended in a sandy beach popular with the locals. It was far too cold to be swimming in it right now but people would still head out there after sunset for bonfires or go stargazing. She had spent many an evening doing just that in her youth and a strong pang of nostalgia hit at her heart.

She got out of her car and decided that her first stop would be to the grocery store down the road a ways and that she would simply work her way back. She didn't have too much to do and she hadn't expected the excursion to take up too much of her day but before she knew it the clock had struck two in the afternoon and she still had one last stop to make at the pharmacy on the corner. She walked in to the red brick building and saw a young blonde woman standing behind the counter reading a magazine. Christine knew that she recognized the girl before she had even looked up.

"Hi, can I help you?"

Christine's eyes darted to the girl's chest. She wasn't wearing a name tag but she could almost feel the girl's name on the tip of her tongue. The blonde raised her eyebrows and only then did Christine realize that she was waiting for her to speak. "I'm here to pick up some prescriptions for my father," she said, "Gustave Daaé."

The girl turned towards the shelves that lined the walls behind her and quickly approached one on her far left. "How is Gustave?" She asked. "We heard about his fall and were all pretty worried about him."

"He's okay." Christine answered. "His hip has a little fracture but other than that, no real harm done."

The blonde turned back around with a small white bag in her hand. "That's great, let him know that we're thinking about him."

"Will do." Christine said. She watched as the girl typed something in to her register for a moment. "I'm sorry but you look awfully familiar to me."

The blonde looked up and cocked her head to the side. "I've been thinking the exact same thing about you, I was just waiting until I checked your ID to figure it out."

Christine pulled her driver's license out of her wallet and handed it to her. "What's your name?"

"Meg," the girl replied as she looked at her information, "Meg Giry."

At almost the same moment both girls' eyes went wide as they looked back at each other. Meg left the medications on the counter as she quickly moved to the locked door on her right. She rushed through it and the girls immediately met in a tight embrace.

"I can't believe it's you!" Christine said as she hugged her. "I haven't seen you since you moved away in fourth grade!"

"I know!" Meg said as she pulled away.

"When did you come back?" Christine asked.

"About two years ago." She answered. "What about you, where did you run off to?"

"I was living in New York for a while." She answered. "It's really great to see you, Meg."

"You, too!" Meg glanced over at the clock. "Hey, I'm getting off in a few minutes. Do you want to go and grab some lunch together or something?"

"I should really be getting back home to my father." Christine answered honestly. "You're welcome to come over to the house if you'd like. I still have some unpacking to do but-"

"Oh, I can help you!" Meg said excitedly. "I'll bet your room still looks just the way it did in fourth grade."

"It's very close." Christine said honestly. "The Backstreet Boys aren't on the walls anymore but it could definitely use some modernization."

"Great, let me just go and tell Thomas." Meg rushed back behind the counter and towards the back room. When she emerged she was wearing a bright red pea coat and pulling her long hair out from its collar. "All set." She said happily. Christine grabbed her bag off of the counter and two made their way on to Main Street.

* * *

Lunch had been a quick and pleasant affair. Christine had made a pizza that she had picked up at the grocery store and Meg had talked easily with her father as she did so. They all ate together in the living room while watching The Price is Right and after cleaning up the mess from their meal Christine lead Meg up to her bedroom. After making a few jokes and comments about the high school nature of the room the two had started unpacking her newer possessions all the while putting away the older ones.

"So tell me about New York." Meg said as she placed one of Christine's nicer tops on to a hanger. "That had to have been a fun place to live."

"It was." Christine said. "There was always something to do and I had a group of really great friends. Do you remember the de Chagny's? I think they started coming here the summer before you moved."

"I think so." Meg said. "There were two of them, right?"

"Yeah, Raoul and Phil." Christine answered. "They lived a few blocks away from me. We hung out all the time which was really helpful when I first moved there."

"I'm sure. Moving to a big city must have been pretty jarring considering you came from Ellisburg." Meg pulled out another stack of Christine's clothes and went about either folding or hanging them. "I mean I only went to Baltimore and that was change enough for me."

"It was pretty nerve wracking but since the two of them had lived there almost their entire lives they really helped me out." Christine explained. "Especially Raoul, I don't think I could have made it through my first subway ride without him."

"Oooh," Meg said as she gave Christine's shoulder a quick nudge, "I think I know where this is going. Did someone have a little crush?"

"On Raoul?" Christine laughed. "No, nothing like that... I was engaged though."

"What?!" Meg said as she turned on her knees to face her. "Christine Daaé, that is unbelievable! Tell me everything!"

"Well, when we met we didn't get along very well." She said. "Actually, it was Phil de Chagny that introduced us in the first place. He had some preconceived notions about vocal students that I just had to prove wrong on principal but after that we were practically inseparable. We both absolutely loved music and theater, we would go to different shows a couple of times a month and he would help me get ready for different performances that I was a part of at MSM. We dated for about a year and a half before we moved in together a few blocks from the theater district and he proposed a little while after that."

"Christine, that's adorable." Meg said excitedly. "But wait, you said you _were_ engaged, like past tense? Are you not anymore?"

Christine paused for a moment and looked down at the hands she now had folded in her lap. "No, he… he died… a few months ago."

"Oh, my God." Meg placed a shocked hand to her chest. "Is that why you moved back?"

She nodded. "That and my father's health."

"I am so sorry, Christine." Meg said as she gently clasped her friend's hand.

"It's okay." Christine said.

Meg could tell just by Christine's body language that the subject still cut her deeply. Meg was full of questions, she always had been, but even she could tell that now was not the time to ask them. Meg's own mother had died shortly after her nineteenth birthday and that had hurt her more than anything in the world, she could only imagine what losing someone that you had chosen to spend the rest of your life with felt like.

"Why don't you come out with me and my friends tonight?" Meg asked. "It may not be New York but Ellisburg does have some fun in it for the twenty one and over crowd."

"I don't know," Christine said, "I really shouldn't leave my father here all night by himself."

"We won't be going out until around ten." Meg said. "Your father will most likely be asleep by then."

"I still have a lot of unpacking to do."

"Now you're just looking for excuses." Meg laughed. "Come on, they're a bunch of really nice girls and I'm sure that they would love to meet you."

"I probably know most of them already." Her own laugh was subtle but still present.

"You probably do." Meg agreed as she stood. "I'm going to run home, grab a shower, and start getting ready. You don't have to decide right now but if you do feel like getting out for a bit just give me a call, okay?

Christine nodded as she, too, rose to her feet. "Okay."

The girls hugged before Meg let herself out and Christine was once again left to her own devices. They had gotten a lot done that day, most of her more embarrassing youthful knick knacks had been tucked away inside the boxes that had been used to transport her now organized clothes and belongings, and the room was looking much more like her own. There were only two boxes left, one that held a bunch of photographs and decorations from her time in New York and another with a big black X across the top.

Christine moved towards the box containing Erik's belongings and slowly unfolded the cardboard flaps. She wasn't exactly sure why she had decided to keep this box as opposed to all of the others, maybe it was because the choice had been accidentally made for her, but she couldn't find it within herself to get rid of it now. She pulled the jacket out of its prison and let it unfold in to her lap. She could still pick up the faintest remnants of his scent embedded within it and she had to stop herself from curling up inside of it and laying on the floor for the rest of the night.

He wouldn't want to see her like this. He would want her to get back out in to the world and be happy. She couldn't quite say that he would want her to find somebody else, she felt it was still far too soon for that, but he wouldn't want her sitting alone in her room weeping over his clothes. She placed the jacket gently back in to the box and resealed it before picking it up and placing it at the back of her closet. She couldn't get rid of it but she knew that she couldn't keep it out in the open either.

Her decision was made before she had even closed her closet doors. She picked up her phone and didn't even give Meg a proper greeting before the two words left her mouth.

"I'm in."

* * *

**Read & review, please?  
The next chapter should be posted either Sunday or Monday.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay on this one. I have been super sick this past week and wasn't able to put together coherent sentences between all the NyQuil and antibiotics so writing had to take a back seat to my recovery.**

Quick note: I have zero idea about any dorm life at MSM (Manhattan School of Music) & if anyone goes or has gone there I apologize for any errors. I have done a quick Google search & looked at pictures and whatnot but I have not visited the school myself.

**Big thanks to my lovely Gina for all of her help with dorm life in this chapter and any future ones. I went to community college & have no idea what the real thing is like besides the stories I've heard from friends & that show Undeclared... **

**GUESS WHAT! THIS CHAPTER STARTS THE ACTUAL STORY! **

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Christine stepped out of the cab and slammed the door shut without even waiting for him to climb out behind her. Erik sighed, Christine had been silently fuming the entire ride and he knew that this wouldn't end well for him. The cabbie turned in his seat and raised his eyebrows.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked. Erik said nothing as he pulled a couple of bills from his back pocket and handed them to him. "You need change?"

The driver got his answer in the form of a quick exit and second slammed door as Erik rushed to catch up to his girlfriend.

"Christine!" He called as she continued on in her quick and determined stride. She paused briefly to slip her Student ID in to the small slot and only then was he able to catch up to her. The buzzer sounded and he pulled the door open for her, a small act of chivalry which earned him a white hot glare as she passed him by.

Oh yeah, Christine was pissed.

She strode a few feet ahead of him as they passed by the lobby's front desk. The RA barely glanced up from the book he was reading before waving Erik past, he had been a frequent visitor to the dorms for almost a year and had stopped signing in months ago. Erik upped his pace to a slight jog and followed Christine in to the stairwell. She had made it half way up the first flight of stairs before he called out to her again.

"Christine,-"

"What, Erik?!" She spun on her heel to face him and wrapped a tight fist around the railing as the heavy metal door fell shut behind him. "Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me tonight?"

"Embarrassed?" He scoffed as he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "_He's_ the one that should be embarrassed, Christine!"

"Actually, that should be you!" She yelled. "I _cannot_ believe you hit him!"

"He had been harassing you all night."

"I was handling it!"

"He put his hands on you." Erik's left eyebrow rose in a way that was almost daring her to challenge him. "He had _no_ right to touch you."

"So that gives you the right to break his nose?" A soft, humorless laugh escaped her lips. "You are unbelievable. You're lucky Raoul was there to talk the owner down from pressing charges!"

"And here we go with _perfect little Raoul_." Erik threw his hands in to the air and began to pace back and forth at the bottom of the stairs.

"_Raoul_ wouldn't have punched some guy in the face for putting his hands on my waist!"

"No, no, no. _Of course_ not."

His sarcastic tone brought on a brand new wave of her anger. "You could have been arrested, Erik!"

"Yes, but I wasn't and we have _pretty little Raoul_ to thank for that."

She let out an annoyed huff before she continued up the stairs. Erik followed close on her heels. "Your jealousy for Raoul absolutely _astounds_ me." She threw over her shoulder as she opened the door to the second floor and quickly walked through.

The student lounge was mostly empty, there were five or so students working on a project at a table in the corner but besides them it was barren. They had no doubt heard at least a bit of their argument and seen the way that the two of them had come storming through because it had obviously caught their attention. Erik met her at the door to her dorm just as she had turned the key in the lock. Christine was pulling the door open when Erik's hand pushed against it and knocked the door shut.

"Erik-"

"No, Christine, listen." She refused to look up at him but neither did she pull away. "I'm sorry that I embarrassed you."

"It's not about that, Erik!" She said as her fiery eyes finally met his own. "You went _way_ too far tonight."

"I may have."

"You _did_."

"That _boy_ was wrong," his voice was low but the aggravation was apparent, "but I understand that in _your_ eyes it doesn't make what I did right."

"No, it doesn't."

"I was defending you."

"I can _defend_ myself!" Her voice came out a bit louder than she had wanted and she quickly corrected her volume. "You of all people should know that, I turned you down plenty of times."

He let out a bitter laugh. "And yet here we are."

Christine had no rebuttal to that one and she quickly turned her head. He took a deep, slow breath in an attempt to calm himself down in the short reprieve from their arguing. He could feel his temper rising and didn't wish to say something that he would regret in the morning.

"I'm sorry that I've upset you," his words were clipped and slow, "but I do not know what you would like me to do. I cannot turn back time and make it not happen."

"You wouldn't even if you could, you were quite proud of yourself." Her voice was calmer now but she still kept her eyes turned away from him.

"Be that as it may, it is impossible and therefore a moot point." He looked down at her and didn't stop his free hand from rising and curling a stray lock of her hair around his pointer finger. "You do look mesmerizing tonight." He said as he released the curl and tucked the tendril behind her ear. Despite her rigid posture, he felt a wave of relief wash over him when she didn't pull away. "In truth, I can hardly blame him for making _multiple_ passes at you."

Her eyes flashed to his as she realized his attempted flattery, his endeavor to change the subject and get back on her good side, and her hands instantly rose to his chest and firmly pushed him away. "Stop it." She hissed.

He let out a harsh sigh as he took a step back, threw his hands out to the sides in exasperation, and let them land in clenched fists roughly against his thighs. "What do you want me to do, Christine?" His voice had risen and he no longer cared about the attention they would draw from those nosy idiots in the lounge.

"You are so pig headed." Her own voice rose to meet his. "I cannot, I _will not_ be with someone who gets in to bar fights, Erik."

"Then it seems we've found ourselves in quite the conundrum here, haven't we?" The menace in his voice was unnerving. "What are you going to do Christine, break up with me?"

Christine was silent as she glared at him and when she didn't answer he found himself taken aback. Had he really screwed up that badly? She turned her face away from him and he watched as a lone tear escaped from her eye and rolled its way down her cheek. His hand was poised to wipe it away when he heard the quick twist of the doorknob and the surprise of it froze him in place. She pushed the door open and as the cold waves of shock rolled over his body he could do nothing but stare as she made her retreat.

"I'll call you tomorrow." Her voice was nearly a whisper as she slipped inside the room and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Christine pulled the CRV in to the bank's parking lot and parked in the spot next to the building. She let the car continue to run as she looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror for seemingly the millionth time. Meg had told her that she and her friends were going 'all out' on their appearances tonight and Christine hoped that she had gone 'out' enough. She had managed to tame her dark hair in to more of a wave than its usual curl, a tedious process that she very rarely had the patience for, and though her makeup was leaning more towards the natural side she had gone with a lip color that was more of a bold red than that of her usual lightly tinted lip balm. Her dress had always been one of her favorites. The tan skirt with black lace overlay fit snugly to her curves before cinching it at the waist and leading to a more loosely fitted black sheer top. The length had never bothered her before, it reached down to about mid thigh and was hardly provocative, but she was feeling rather self conscious tonight.

She was nervous, there was no denying that and she wasn't about to try. This was the most social situation she had been a part of since Erik's funeral and the prospect of throwing herself out there and meeting a whole group of new people was rather unnerving. She simply hoped that she could find her own place in Meg's social circle.

Two quick honks alerted her of the car pulling in a spot away from her and she looked over to see Meg's smiling face as she waved from her own vehicle. Christine removed the key from the CRV's ignition and went to meet Meg between the cars.

"You. Look. Adorable." Meg said as she approached.

"Thank you." Christine said as she took in Meg's perfectly curled hair and short, dark red dress. "You do, too."

"Come on!" Meg looped her arm around Christine's and began walking quickly across the street. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone! This is so exciting!"

They walked in to the bar arm in arm and Christine was pleasantly surprised by the modern look that O'Doul's had adopted. Its sleek and shiny black marble bar top, state of the art draft beer system, and overall pleasing layout almost tricked her in to thinking she was back in New York.

"This place looks amazing." Christine said as the bouncer checked her ID. She wasn't sure if it was company policy or if she still looked underage at twenty three but she gave the bouncer her driver's license without issue and gave him a quick smile when he returned it.

"It was on that show Bar Rescue a couple of months ago." Meg explained. "It was disgusting before that."

Christine nodded. She had never seen the show but she understood the general premise was an angry middle aged man saving failing establishments with his advice, remodeling crew, and band of experts that he had picked up through decades in the bar industry. Meg looked around the room, obviously searching for someone, and the moment she found them she grabbed Christine's hand and rushed her towards a round table in the middle of the large room.

"Meg!" A young woman with straight, short, blonde hair called as she noticed their approach. They rushed towards one another and the hugged in greeting before Meg made her rounds to the other people at the table.

"Everyone," Meg said as she came back around to Christine's side, "this is Christine."

"Christine Daaé?!" A girl with light brown hair and freckles lining her face said as she looked at Christine in disbelief.

"I'm sorry do I-"

"Lindsay Broughton," the girl said quickly, "we were in Miss Templeton's eighth grade class together!"

"Lindsay!" Christine said as the two rushed towards one another and quickly hugged. "How have you been?"

"Fantastic!" Lindsay answered as she beckoned one of the young men standing around the table forward. He was an attractive man, a little heavy with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair. He gave her a pleasant smile as he took Lindsay's hand in his own. "This is Nathan. He's my..." they looked at one another quickly, "boyfriend."

Christine noticed something odd about the tight lipped, secretive smile that the couple shared but wouldn't dare comment on it. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well." Nathan said as he shook her hand politely.

"About time you came back to town!"

Christine turned around and saw a girl with dark red hair moving towards her and instantly recognized her as Tracey McStarlanburg. She hugged her without the least bit of shyness or introduction and Christine eagerly returned the gesture. "Raoul and I were just talking about you the other day." Christine said as she broke the embrace.

"Oh no," Tracey said, "I hope it wasn't the skinny dipping story."

"No, the hair dying experiment."

"Oh, no!" Tracey laughed. "That might actually be even worse! You remember Julie Bronson, right?"

"Yes!" Christine said as she turned her attention towards the girl sitting at the round bar table with dark corkscrew hair and a cast adorning her left leg. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know, broken again!" Julie had always been a bit on the clumsy side and being an athlete certainly didn't help her predisposition.

"What happened?" Christine asked.

"Oh, you have to tell the story!" Meg chimed in. "It might be the best one yet."

Julie rolled her eyes but dove straight in with a smile on her face. "I coach lacrosse now at the high school and a couple of weeks ago I went in to the goal during a practice to correct one of my goalie's blocks. All of sudden BAM!" She clapped her hands together. "One of the girls lost her grip on her stick and it hit me straight in the shin."

"That's terrible!" Christine said.

"It's actually pretty hilarious." Julie said as she grabbed her beer bottle from the table. "My surgery is scheduled for next week and until then I will self medicate with a nice IPA."

"Megster!" A young man called as he and another man about his age approached the table. Meg turned and quickly ran at the tall young man with sandy blonde hair and he lifted her petite frame off of the ground and swung her around his body with ease.

"Matt," Tracey called over the music and general commotion of the quite crowded bar, "you remember Christine Daaé, don't you?"

Matt's eyes lit up in recognition as he set Meg back on her own two feet. "Of course I do, my eighth grade Sadie Hawkins dance date!"

"Matthew Larking?!" Christine asked. "No, it can't be you!"

"It's me!" He responded as he eagerly moved her way and pulled her in to a tight embrace. "I heard that you hot footed it out of here and took off to New York."

"Not exactly." Christine said as she extracted herself from his hold. "I went to school in New York."

"But you're back now, right?" He asked.

"I am." She had to force the smile that appeared on her face and Meg shifted her weight a little awkwardly between her feet.

"Let me buy you a drink," he said, "what's your poison?"

"How about two vodka cranberries?" Meg asked sweetly as she looped her arm through Christine's again and rested her head on her shoulder.

Christine laughed and turned back to Matt. "I'll get you back next time."

"Don't sweat it, consider it a welcome home gift." He winked and turned his gaze back to Meg. "Two vodka cranberries coming right up."

He turned towards the bar and all but disappeared in to the crowd of people waiting to be served. Christine was surprised that she had known Meg's entire group of friends but it did make sense. Ellisburg was a small town, everyone knew everyone. Nobody ever seemed to leave and those that did more often than not seemed to find their way back, she herself was a perfect example of that.

Matt was back within a few minutes and handed each of the girls their the drinks before moving to an empty spot at the table and settling in among his friends. A new song started playing and a when Meg's face light up like a Christmas tree Christine knew that she was in trouble.

"Oh, I love this song!" She grabbed Christine's hand. "Come on, Christine, let's dance!"

"I don't really-"

"Oh, come on, Daaé! Have a little fun!" Tracey grabbed her other hand and it seemed that Christine had no choice in the matter as they pulled her towards the dance floor.

Meg had always had a knack for dance, Christine remembered that well enough from their briefly shared childhood, but Christine felt out of her element. In a structured, planned, and choreographed number she was able to manage well enough but 'freestyle' was not her forte. She did put out an effort, though, and she soon found herself swinging her hips to the quite simple beat of the song.

She had just begun to feel comfortable when she swore that she could feel eyes on her. A chill ran down her spine and she couldn't help the tiny head shake she gave as it coursed through her entire body. Something about the feeling seemed odd, unnatural, and she soon found herself looking as far and deep in the crowd as she could to figure out the source.

At first she had simply believed that she had imagined the dark shadow that seemed to weave in and out between the completely unaware throngs of people but the second time she saw its fluid like movements slinking from shadow to shadow she knew that she hadn't been tricked by the lighting. Meg and Tracey were so caught up in themselves that they didn't even notice when she discreetly left their sides and began walking towards it. The shadow suddenly darted from the corner behind the DJ to a darkened booth across the dance floor. She jumped back in surprise and slammed back to back in to whoever was behind her.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" A girl about her age spun on her heel and Christine immediately noticed the large wet spot adorning the front of the girl's dress.

"I am so sorry." She said as she reached to grab a pile of napkins off of a nearby table.

"You'd better be." The girl said as she snatched the napkins out of her hand. "Drinks aren't cheap and neither was this dress."

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I'll but you a-"

She stopped as the shadow took off from the booth and shot behind a partition at the back of the room. Christine didn't even hear the girl's harsh words and insults as she simply turned towards where the figure had gone and began walking towards it. She felt much like she had in her room that last day in New York, her feet carried her as if by their own volition and her mind was almost in a fog. The music seemed far away and she barely registered the people around her as she came to the partition.

All she needed to do was turn the corner and she knew it would be there. The last thing she had expected was to be promptly pushed back by a man's broad chest.

"Oomph." An arm came around her and stopped her from falling backwards at the impact. She looked up quickly and was surprised to find that she had run straight in to Matt. "Sorry, sorry! Are you okay?"

She all but pushed him out of the way as she sprinted behind the partition. She wasn't even surprised to find nothing there, she was actually more irritated than anything. There was simply a boring hallway that lead to the bathrooms and a back exit with a _Smoking Area_ sign hanging over it.

"Helloooo?" Matt said from beside her. "Earth to Christine, something wrong?"

She shook her head and turned her focus back to him. "I thought I saw somebody."

Matt looked behind him with a shrug. "Nobody back here but me."

"Yeah." She sighed as she came back to her senses. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to run in to you."

"No worries," he said as she flexed his muscles in a way that was obviously meant to be comical, "I'm a big strong man. I can handle a little bump here and there."

Christine was saved from having to make any kind of response by Meg's sudden appearance from the opposite side of the partition. "There you are! I was wondering where you went off to. Come on, let's head back to the table and order some loaded fries. They make the best loaded fries here."

"They do." Matt agreed. The two turned to head back to the table but Christine lingered for a moment longer. She looked once more down that hallway and let out a sigh before she began to follow a few feet behind them.

* * *

Meg ordered her fries and the entire group happily helped her eat them. Everything went well for a good hour or two, Christine was easily accepted in to the group and she was talking to them all as if she had never left in no time. The drinks were good, they had added much more alcohol here than even the most heavy handed bar in New York City, and she soon found herself thinking about her old group of friends.

They had shared plenty of nights just like these in multiple establishments similar to this one. Christine had rarely ever drank before she had moved to the city and had always trusted one of her friends to order something decent for her. She had learned that she enjoyed things with fruit in them and wished for the life of her that she could remember what her favorite had been called... the one with cranberry and pineapple. Whenever she had gotten them at Playwright's they had always looked so pretty and-

"Oh. My. God." Christine's head turned as she heard the shocked and choppy words fall from Meg's lips. "What is that around your finger?"

Christine's eyes turned in the direction that Meg was facing and she soon picked up on Meg's excited wonder. On the ring finger of Lindsay's left hand sat a small, delicate band adorned with a single shining diamond. Christine felt her heart drop as she realized what it was and her wide eyes raised to Lindsay's face.

"We weren't going to tell anyone until my parent's found out." Lindsay said as she looked nervously towards Nathan. He gave her a reassuring smile and a slight nod, a gesture that Lindsay returned before turning her eyes back to the rest of the group surrounding the table. "We're engaged."

Nathan reached out and entwined Lindsay's fingers with his own. "We're getting married."

The entire group erupted in a chorus of 'awe's, shrieks, and applause and Christine could do nothing but stare in shock at the ring on the girl's finger. The room was suddenly way too small and far too stuffy. The group of friends swarmed the beaming couple and congratulated them with hugs, kisses, and well wishes.

Christine could hardly stand it.

Without a word, and seemingly unnoticed, she quickly fled towards the back door and let herself out. There were cigarette butts surrounding her heels but she felt an overwhelming sense of relief at the fact that the area was empty. She leaned her back against the brick wall of the alley and sunk to the ground below her, wrapping her arms around her legs and leaning her forehead against her bent knees.

The tears came quickly. It wasn't fair. None of it was. All she had wanted was one good night where the past didn't come back and kick her in the face. Everything had been going so well, she was actually having fun, and then that stupid ring had to bring everything back. She was so sick of being sad, she was tired of crying and feeling so pathetic. People got engaged all the time and if she couldn't even bear the thought of two people she barely knew getting hitched then how was she supposed to have any hope of functioning like a normal adult when it was one of her real friend's happy day? It seemed as if every step forward was followed by two steps back and she wasn't sure how much more of this constant roller coaster she could stand.

"_Chriiistine_."

Her head shot up as she heard her name whispered softly through the light breeze. She looked around but she was sure that no one was there. She felt the now all too familiar prickling at the back of her neck and her attention went to the end of the short alley no more than ten feet away from her. The tiny hairs on her arms stood on end as the quiet, gentle beckoning came again. She tried as hard as she could to will the paralyzing feeling away, to turn around and walk back in to the bar, but she was glued to the spot.

The squeak of the hinges behind her might as well have been a gunshot with the way they startled her and she nearly gave herself whiplash with the speed at which her head spun towards the quickly opened back door. Christine saw Matt make his way outside and he gave her a quick smile as he drew nearer. She had never been so relieved to see another person in her life.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"I just needed some fresh air." She lied as she got to her feet. Her legs wobbled slightly and she noticed the way Matt glanced down at her legs. The dress had gathered a little higher than she would have liked and she awkwardly pulled the hem down to a more proper length.

Matt's eyes went back to her face and his brow furrowed. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just..." She looked back towards the end of the alley and the next thing she knew Matt was stalking towards it. "No, Matt, don't!"

He walked out on to the sidewalk beyond the two brick walls and looked around. He took a few steps to either side and peered in each direction. "There's no one here, Christine."

She let out a shaky breath and nodded. "Of course there's not."

Matt walked back in to the alleyway, looking at her strangely the entire time, and she was sure that he was starting to think she was crazy. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting kind of weird all night."

"Yeah, it's um..." She put a hand to her head and gave it a quick shake. "I think I'm just tired, you know? From the move and everything."

"Well, you want to get out here?" Matt asked as he gestured towards the alley's exit. "I could walk you to your car."

She nodded. "Yeah, that would be great actually. Thank you."

Matt nodded but gave her one last curious glance. "You sure you're okay?"

It took nearly all that she was to muster up the smile that she gave him. "I'm fine, Matt, really."

"Alright then." He said as he gestured once more towards the alley's exit. "Lead the way."

* * *

Their walk back to her car had started off awkwardly. Matt was being overly cautious of her and Christine was sure that she could have cut the tension with a knife. When they had stepped out on to the back street and Christine had made a normal comment about the diner up the way, however, the mood seemed to change and they were soon talking back and forth just as easily as they had been before the alley incident. Since they hadn't walked through to the front of the bar they were forced to walk around to the break in the buildings and they took their stroll at a leisurely pace.

They arrived in the brightly lit parking lot a few minutes later. They came to a stop in the spot between Meg's car and her own before Christine turned to face him. "Thanks for walking me back. I'm not a huge fan of walking places alone in the dark."

"Yeah," Matt chuckled, "don't mention it."

Christine gave him one last smile. "Goodni-"

Her words were cut off by Matt's lips crashing against hers. The buzz of the streetlights surrounding the lot seemed to grow louder and Christine pulled away immediately. She took a startled step back and found herself backed against her car as her wide eyes met his. "What are you doing?"

"Did we not-?" Matt stammered, clearly shocked by her abrupt rejection of his advance. "I thought I felt a spark."

"I didn't." Christine told him honestly.

"But back at the bar..." he let out a nervous chuckle as he ran a hand through his sandy hair. "I mean, can I just..." He stopped and Christine was shocked to see his face move towards hers again in a second attempt to kiss her.

"No." She raised her hand and placed it firmly between them. The flickering of the lights became faster and more chaotic and Matt looked to the light nearest them. Christine took his moment of distraction to quickly step around him and move to the door of her vehicle.

"Come on, Christine!" Matt grumbled as his attention returned to her and he followed closely behind. "I mean, I bought you a drink."

"And I will gladly pay you back for that." Christine wanted nothing more than to simply climb in to her car and speed off but Matt's placement was making opening the door without hitting him impossible. "Now could you step back, please? I would like to leave."

Christine turned to unlock the door but Matt's hand wrapped around her wrist and he quickly spun her back around. His body was all but against hers as he effectively pinned her between himself and the CRV. She attempted to push him away but there was no mistaking that she was at quite the disadvantage and her quick shove did nothing to move him.

"Come on, Christine," Matt said, "live a little."

An ear splitting shriek came from the streetlamps and Christine watched in wide eyed horror as two by two the rows of parallel light bulbs across the lot from one another shattered and an almost tangible wave of darkness overtook the parking lot. Tiny shards of broken glass rained down upon them as the last of the lights exploded and sent them in to all but complete darkness. Christine screamed as a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere mere inches behind Matt and the poor boy hardly had the chance to turn around before the thing's pale hand wrapped around his throat and threw him to the side as if he weighed nothing.

Christine turned back to her car but in her terror the keys fell from her shaking hand and landed somewhere in the darkness. "No!" She gasped as she bent down to try and find them. She looked under her car and realized in horror that they had somehow bounced a good distance beneath it.

Christine jumped to her feet and ran to the other side of her car in an attempt to flee but Matt's body slamming against the brick wall in front of her cut off her retreat. She quickly jumped back but her fear and disorientation caused her to lose her footing and she fell gracelessly to the ground and landed harshly on her bottom. She could feel the sharp shards of the broken light bulbs digging in to her hands from below her as she tried to scramble backwards on all fours but there was nowhere to go. She backed in to the dark corner and could do nothing but watch as the thing picked Matt up by the front of his shirt and raised him to eye level. Matt's feet dangled a good six inches from the ground and his head met forcefully with the brick wall behind him. Christine could hear the sickening crack from her spot a few feet away and tears rose in her eyes as she heard Matt's sharp cry of pain.

Matt continued to try and fight with everything that he had but it was a hopeless battle. One of the shadow's pale hands dug in to Matt's neck and kept him tightly pinned to the wall as the other rose to make an almost claw like formation in front of his face.

"Please," he choked out, "no. Stop."

Christine heard a dark chuckle before Matt's struggling became more ferocious and then his entire body suddenly went still. The shadow threw Matt to the side as if he was no more than a rag doll and his limp body hit the ground with a solid thud.

Christine's terror only grew as it turned those glowing yellow eyes to her.


	6. Chapter 5

**It is time, my children, for what we have all been waiting for.**

**CHAPTER 5**

Christine rested her forehead against the door, her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep as she lowered her hand to the lock. She was more than upset about everything that had happened that night and she couldn't just let it go with a caress and a compliment.

The young man _had _been bothering her all night, that was true, but she had always been able to manage unwanted advances on her own with a polite refusal of the drink or offer to dance. She had known that the guy had gained Erik's attention with his multiple approaches but she had assured him that everything was fine and that she could handle it herself. When she had gotten up to go to the bathroom and the young man had practically cornered her between himself and a booth she had decided it was time to let her manners drop and become extremely blunt.

"Listen," she said sternly, "I appreciate your _numerous_ offers to buy me a drink tonight but I am not interested."

"How about a dance, then?" The guy asked.

"I prefer to dance with my _boyfriend_." She drew out the syllables of the last word and hoped that it would register in his drunken mind. She had no such luck.

"Come on," his hands had reached out to grasp her hips and he pulled her slender body against his own, "just one dance."

Christine hadn't even been aware of Erik's presence until he had grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and pushed him harshly away from her. He took two steps to the side and effectively put himself between her and her pursuer. The young man quickly steadied himself and began to advance on Erik, but he was ready. The moment the young man was within reach Erik's fist shot out and collided with his nose so hard that Christine knew she had heard the sickening crunch of bone breaking. The adrenaline must have kept the young man from feeling the pain because he was up and delivering a retaliating blow to Erik's jaw the next second.

Security was on them within moments and the two men were quickly separated as everyone else watched in a flurry of noise and motion. Erik had managed to pull Christine to his side as most of the team worked on pushing the young man towards the back of the bar and they were allowed to leave on their own volition. The blood was pouring from the young man's nose as if it were a faucet and he continued to scream at them even as they left the bar.

"Are you okay?" Christine had asked the moment they were outside and under the street lights.

"I'm fine." His voice was tense as he moved a hand to cup his jaw. She gently turned his head to the side and saw the large red mark that now adorned his skin. She had no doubt that it would leave a rather impressive bruise but otherwise he _was_ fine. He moved to put an arm around her but she quickly pushed him away.

That was when the argument had started.

"So are you just going to stand at the door like that all night or..." The sound of her roommate's voice brought her back to reality and Christine let out a sigh. Her roommate was a pretty girl with red hair and a soft sprinkling of freckles along her cheeks. Carlotta, or 'the artist formerly known as Carla' as some of the students liked to call her behind her back, was quite the diva at MSM and was given most of the main female roles in the assortment of shows that the school put on every semester.

Whoever had decided to room her with her biggest competition was a complete idiot.

As pretty as Carlotta was outside, inside she was a devious little snake. She had seen a potential rival in Christine from day one of their first year and had worked very hard to make that fear a reality. She would do everything that she could to sabotage any success Christine would get in the theater department by doing anything from staying up late 'studying' the night before a big performance to hiding pieces of her costumes in the middle of shows. Christine had done the entire second act of Into the Woods barefoot because of one of Carlotta's little tricks but luckily her large gown had hidden that from the audience and any professors or potential employers judging her performance.

With a sigh, Christine turned and made her way to her side of the room. She could feel Carlotta's eyes on her and tried desperately to ignore her. It didn't work.

"You're home early." Carlotta sneered. "I'd figured that you'd be staying with that boyfriend of yours tonight."

Christine continued to ignore her as she moved to her dresser.

"Your stuff is on my side of the room again." Carlotta said as she continued to write notes along the sheet music she had in front of her. "You need to stop that from happening or I'm going to stop being so nice about it. You need to do your laundry, too. It's not fair that I have to look at your mess all day every day.

Christine turned towards her laundry basket. It was kept it inside the closet, the closet that Carlotta could never seem to keep closed, and was hardly even half way full. Christine rolled her eyes and grabbed the bag containing her toiletries off of her desk. All she wanted in the world right now was to take a nice hot shower and she hoped that by the time she got back to the room Carlotta would be asleep.

She turned back to the door to see the redhead standing in front of it, blocking her exit. She had a scowl on her face and Christine knew that the girl was looking for an argument. "Carlotta, not tonight. Please."

Christine stepped around her, opened the door, and walked out in to the hall.

* * *

Erik watched helplessly as the door closed behind her. He felt defeated and frustrated and wasn't sure what his next move should be. She was still mad, that was a given, but he was pretty sure that the venom that had been coursing through her towards him had started to dissipate towards the end of their… conversation. He hated leaving things this way, with Christine upset and nothing but the promise of a phone call the next day, but he wasn't sure that knocking on her door and continuing this right now would be for the best.

He was protective of her, he would even go as far as to say he was a little possessive, but he was usually good about letting Christine fend for herself. He knew that she could swat away unwanted attention, she had done so plenty of times, but tonight had been different. The boy had approached her multiple times and seemed to be having a hard time understanding the meaning of 'no thank you'. After his second attempt at buying her a drink Erik had discreetly asked her if she wanted him to say something, an offer that she had refused. When she had gotten up to use the bathroom and the young man had approached her again Erik had decided that enough was enough. When he saw the man's hands reach out and grab her, however, the line had been crossed.

In the heat of the moment he had not thought about the repercussions. All he had cared about was getting Christine out of that situation and getting the boy's hands _off_ of his girlfriend. He had stepped in front of her to protect her, he had even made sure that there was enough space between the two of them for her to easily flee, it only now hit him that his own actions had put her in a brand new danger of their own.

He straightened himself up and walked towards the elevators across the lounge. He turned his head towards his previous audience and it seemed as though they were once again fully engrossed in their work. He had just pushed the down button when Christine's door suddenly flew open and the sound of her roommate's yelling overtook the otherwise quiet floor.

"What is your problem?" Carlotta asked, tossing her arms in to the air in the most dramatic way possible. "I try to be a good roommate, I try to be nice to you even though you make living here practically unbearable with your thoughtless actions and filth and yet you're the one that comes in here with an attitude!"

The students at the table turned towards the source of all the noise, one going so far as to completely turn his chair around, and they all seemed to settle in for a show.

"Carlotta, calm down." Christine spoke at her normal volume.

"Calm down?!" Carlotta shrieked. "You're telling me to calm down?!"

A few of the doors along the hallway opened and curious students stuck their heads through them.

"If some of my things are on your side of the room I will move them. Just toss them on my bed and I will find new places for them."

"Toss them?! I'll toss them!" Carlotta disappeared in to the room and reappeared quickly. "You want me to toss your things?!"

Christine's eyes widened as she saw what it was that Carlotta had brought back with her and Erik took another glance. The redhead had her hand wrapped tightly around a figurine of an angel wearing a dark green dress and holding an infant child in her arms. He looked back at Christine and saw that her own hands had gone up in a surrendering motion and there was a look of absolute panic across her face.

"Carlotta, _please_ put that down." Christine was fully pleading now. "My mother gave that to me before she passed away, it's all I have left from her."

"Then you should have thought about it before you put it on my side! You want me to toss it?!"

Christine screamed as Carlotta threw the figurine to the floor and it shattered in to a million tiny pieces. Christine instantly fell to her knees and attempted to collect all of the tiny fragments but Carlotta kicked a foot through them and sent them scattering across the floor. The redhead turned back in to the room and slammed the door.

One by one the doors closed and the curious faces that had been leaning through them disappeared. The students at the table returned to their work and the only sound in the hall were quiet clinks as pieces of porcelain met each other within Christine's desperate hands.

Erik picked up the pieces that had slid across the floor as he made his way over to her. She had unrolled the towel from within her toiletry bag and was frantically placing the delicate pieces in to it. She didn't even notice his presence before he knelt down and added the bits he had collected to the pile but the moment she saw his hands her eyes shot up to meet his and the tears began to flow with a heightened fervor. His hand cupped the back of her neck and she nearly collapsed in to his chest as he pulled her to him. He glared at the lone soul who dared to watch them from the corner of the lounge and the young man quickly averted his eyes. The last thing that Christine needed right now was to be stared and gawked at by gossipy music students.

"Let's go back to my place." Erik whispered.

Christine nodded and wiped at her tears with the sleeve of her dress. It was one of Erik's favorites on her but after all of this he would be happy to never see the thing again. He helped Christine to her feet and grabbed the towel off of the floor. He was careful to keep all of the porcelain pieces together and even gave the floor one last look over to make sure they had collected them all before he took her hand and started for the elevators.

* * *

Christine's stared up at the creature, it was all she could do from cornered against the brick wall. Her body felt paralyzed and the only thing she could make out from beneath the shadow's hood were those two glowing yellow eyes. Her heartbeat raced as it took a slow step in her direction. She was terrified but she forced her eyes to remain steadily locked with it as it approached. The shards of glass were digging deeper in to her palms and she was pretty sure that she had given her ankle a nice twist as she had fallen but none of that mattered right now.

Her mind was racing and had already discredited many plans to escape. The thing was strong, it had proven that in the way it had effortlessly flung Matt around as if he was nothing. Trying to fight her way out would be pointless. It moved faster than anything she had ever seen before so her chances of being able to rush past it were slim to none. Her mind traveled back to her keys and their current location thrown haphazardly beneath her CRV. She fought her body's natural impulse to look towards them, the last thing she wanted to do was give the shadow a clue as to what she was thinking. If she could somehow reach her keys and get inside her car before the creature did then she might stand a fighting chance, if she couldn't then at least she would have some sort of a weapon to help her out.

She braced her palms against the ground and ignored the biting sting of the glass as she quickly lunged to her left. She scrambled beneath the car and quickly pulled herself over to where she had seen her keys earlier. The absolute hopelessness that filled her entire being the moment she realized that they were no longer there was staggering.

A lone tear ran down her cheek as she heard the shadow's dark, low chuckle. It seemed to come from everywhere all at once and if it hadn't been for the graceful steps she could see him silently taking in a slow circle around her car she would have had no idea where he was. Her hands came to cover her mouth in an attempt to remain silent.

"Are we missing something, Christine?" She heard him ask in an amused whisper.

"Was our lovely heroin planning a grand exit?" The voice came directly from her left but she could still see the black boots and the bottom of the... what was that thing, a cloak?... as the shadow continued to circle around her car.

"A triumph over evil?" Another dark laugh enveloped her in its essence. The creature's voice continued to jump from place to place as it went on.

"What happened to that brave girl that chased me through a storm no more than a day ago?"

"Certainly she wouldn't be hiding beneath a vehicle as the creature she sought out so diligently stood mere feet away from her."

"You _should_ be running, screaming, fighting to get away." It seemed to whisper directly in to her ear. "Instead you've chased me every time you catch a glimpse."

Christine was silent, she wouldn't dare utter a single word. She watched as the shadow's footsteps came to a stop directly in front of her. If her heart was beating any harder she felt it would have burst from her chest.

"Fine." She heard the shadow sigh as if it had grown bored. "Have it your way."

All of a sudden, as quickly as it had came, the shadow was gone but Christine could not yet muster up the courage to move. She stayed hidden beneath the car and listened for anything that would suggest that it was still there. She glanced towards her feet and saw that Matt's body hadn't moved a single inch. She paid special attention to his chest and felt relief swell within her as she noticed his shallow but even breaths. The blood was seeping slowly from the back of his head but he almost seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He was still alive but she knew that he needed help.

Very slowly and as carefully as she could, Christine pulled herself out from beneath her vehicle. She looked quickly around the parking lot but she saw no sign of the thing's presence. She looked down at her ankle, it was bruised and there was some swelling but she was pretty sure that she could walk on it. She slipped her heels off and left them beside her car not caring whatsoever if she saw the damnable things again. She hesitantly took a few steps away from her car and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She felt incredibly vulnerable and all she could think about was getting back to the bar and calling the police.

"_Chriiistiiine_."

She spun on her heel and her eyes widened in terror as she saw the dark silhouette standing on the top of her car. She watched as it jumped high in to the air before landing in a crouch on the ground not ten feet away from her without a sound. Christine took off in to the night and didn't give a second thought to her injured ankle. She could feel it following close behind her and knew that she could not let it catch her. She had never been this terrified in her life and the only word running through her mind was '_run_'.

She took the first turn she found and was lucky enough to have chosen a path that led straight through to another street. She ran through the narrow alley and could hear the shadow behind her as it carelessly knocked over anything in its path. It wanted her to know that it was there, she realized, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She bolted to her left and saw a small parking garage and decided to flee that way. A metal trashcan landed a foot in front of her and forced her to change her mind. She quickly feigned to the right and ran beside the Ellisburg Bed and Breakfast. She made her way to the dumpster at the back of the property and crouched down behind it.

Her breathing was ragged and her ankle was throbbing but she knew that she couldn't stop for long. She took a series of deep breaths and attempted to slow her racing heartbeat. She couldn't hear anything but she knew that with her current pursuer the lack of noise didn't mean that he wasn't there. She sat in relative silence for what seemed like forever. Her breathing slowed and the burning sensation in her chest from her vigorous running was beginning to subside.

A series of loud bangs from the other side of the dumpster had her running again and she heard his chuckle from behind her as she broke through to the next street. She was so caught up in her attempt to escape that she didn't even notice the car coming down the road until it blared its horn and by that time it was far too late.

She put her hands up in front of her eyes and braced herself for impact.

A pair of strong arms come around her torso and all but tackled her out of the way as it pulled her in to itself. The body against hers was nearly ice cold but she had no choice but to bury her face in to its chest as it easily lifted her from the ground. She barely felt the fabric of the cloak as it came swirling around her- _them_- and blocked out every bit of the car's bright headlights. The shadow carried her with it as it spun gracefully in to an alley. Its hold on her was strong but the moment they came to a stop Christine tried to pull herself away.

"Let me go!" She screamed as she beat against the thing's chest.

"Christine." Her name on its tongue was an obvious warning.

"Get off of me!" She ripped herself away from the shadow and stumbled backwards. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked to the back of the alley and saw that there was no way out. She spun back around and was just about to try and run past it when the shadow reached one pale hand out to her and held it steady.

"**STOP!**"

Its word was simple but Christine was suddenly glued to the spot. She couldn't seem to will her legs to move and she felt the familiar fog begin to form at the back of her mind. She tried with everything that she had to make it go away but it slowly grew stronger until her tears began to slow and she felt her entire body begin to calm. The shadow lowered its hand and seemed to relax as well.

"Who are you?" Her body was still trembling but she fought to keep her voice sounding strong.

"_I_ am who just saved your life," his voice took on a pleasing timbre that it hadn't possessed before, "and _you_ are an idiot."

"You've been following me."

It let out a sharp exhale, something close to a laugh. "You're lucky for that."

"I don't enjoy being stalked." Her words were matter of fact. "You came in to my home, you've followed me everywhere, and you attacked my friend!"

"On the contrary, my dear!" Its voice rose slightly. "I stopped your _friend_ from attacking _you_!"

"Will he live?" She asked.

He sighed. "He will awaken tomorrow in much the same way that you did today. He may have quite the headache, however, and I will not go through the trouble of returning him to the safety of his bed." His voice was doing something strange to her. She knew that she should be running in a terrified frenzy away from this creature but the more he spoke the more at ease she became. "Are you hurt?"

She looked down at her hands but did not answer his question. He came closer and she took a startled step back. "No!"

"I can assure you that I mean you no harm." He said as he continued to approach.

Christine didn't know why she believed him, she had seen what he was capable of mere minutes ago, but she raised her left hand and allowed him to take it in to his pale, frigid ones. He turned her palm up and quickly surveyed the damage. There were a series of tiny cuts scattered everywhere and a particularly nasty gash ran along the base of her hand. He gently plucked the remaining glass out of and away from her wounds as the coldness of his fingers did what they could to ease her pain. He released her wrist as soon as he was done.

"And the other?"

Christine raised her other hand without question as she looked at his handiwork. She was sure that he hadn't missed a single shard. She could feel the controlling fog begin to recede to the back of her mind and wondered for a moment if it had to do with the shadow's own level of comfort. She had so many questions about this... _thing_... and she knew that if she ever wanted to get any answers that she would have to act fast. This was the longest she had ever spent in the shadow's company and she had to know what it was.

Her mind began to formulate a plan before she ever had a chance to stop it. The shadow had grabbed her, she had felt its strong body against her own, so it had to be solid, right? All she had to do was throw back that hood and she would see its face. She wasn't sure what she would find when she did it, but she knew that it had to be done.

He had just finished with her second hand and was about to say something when Christine suddenly lunged forward and grasped on to the soft fabric of the hood. The shadow tried to grasp her arms but he was too late. She pulled out of his grasp and threw the fabric back as fast as she could...

The golden eyes met hers and she felt as if she had been struck.

She stumbled back with a loud gasp and nearly fell on her bottom for the second time that night. The shadow reached out for her, caught her this time and steadied her, but she violently tore herself out of its grasp. Tears formed in her eyes as she backed away and collapsed against the brick wall. With absolutely no grace whatsoever she dropped to her knees and the thing fell with her, its hands grabbing her arms again in another attempt to steady her.

This could not be happening.

This could not be real.

Christine could not tear her eyes away from his face, his dark brown hair, his strong jaw line. It was all so familiar. Nothing had changed except for the glowing eyes and stark white porcelain mask covering nearly the entire right half of his face. She moved her hand to touch it, to rip it off and see the rest of him, but his own hand reached up and stopped her with all the gentleness she remembered him having. She looked closer at the mask's edges and noticed the bloating on the right side of his lower lip as well as the tears welling in his eyes.

He looked away from her suddenly, he seemed both panicked and embarrassed, but Christine grabbed on to his arms as he tried to pull away. His mouth opened as if he was about to say something but he stopped himself as she lifted her right hand and moved it to touch the uncovered half of his face. His skin was cold and he looked pale but she could feel him. He was real. His left hand rose to cover hers and he turned his head to press a light kiss against her palm.

"Erik?" She whispered through her tears.

"Christine, I-"

"You're... you're dead." She said.

He nodded. "I am."

She choked back a sob and it was all he could do not to pull her to him again. "Am I crazy?"

"No." A single tear rolled down his uncovered cheek. "No, Christine, you're not crazy."

"Isn't that the first sign of a crazy person, though?" She asked. "They don't know that they're crazy."

"Well, by that logic, if you were crazy then that question never would have crossed your mind." He chuckled as his cold hands found hers and grasped them within her lap. "This is real, Christine. I'm real."

"How is that even possible?" She asked.

"That's a very long story."

"I'm pretty sure that I have the time!" She shook her head with a scoff. "No, this is insane. There is no way that this..." She paused. "How long?"

Erik's brow furrowed beneath the mask. "How long..."

"How long have you been..." Christine wasn't sure what word to use. "How long have you been _back_?"

His voice was low when he answered. "Since the day after the funeral."

Christine pulled her hands from his and got to her feet. Erik had no idea how she was going to react, there wasn't exactly a guide book on this sort of thing, but he rose with her and watched as she took three quick steps towards the alley's exit before turning back to face him.

"How dare you." She said angrily.

Erik took a cautious step towards her and felt his mind and body ready itself for a fight, an instinct he hadn't had before. "How dare _I_?"

"You were alive-"

"Not technically."

"-and you kept that from me."

He sighed and she watched as he softly touched his hand to his mask before lowering it back to his side. She wondered if the mask hurt him. "I wanted to come to you sooner, Christine, but I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"It wasn't safe." He said. "Not for me, not for you, not for our friends."

"What the hell does that even mean?!" She asked. "I uprooted my entire life, Erik! I left New York and came back here to get away from you and all the memories that had you in it!"

"Ah, yes!" He clapped his hands together. "Let's talk about that, shall we?"

"Don't." She warned as she pointed a finger at him. "You have no idea how hard it's been."

"Don't I?" He asked. "You seem to not realize, _my love_, that you're not the only one suffering in this situation."

"You didn't think I was dead!" She stepped steadily towards him and let all of her anger and heartbreak out in her words.

"No, but I did get to sit back and watch as you gave up everything!" His voice boomed and came from every direction.

"Because you were everywhere, Erik! Everywhere I looked I saw you! Whenever I passed Fratello's, _'I should grab Erik the crepes that he likes_.' Menchie's, that frozen yogurt place across the street? _'Oh, remember the time you were stressing yourself out over finals and Erik brought home a big bowl of toasted marshmallow froyo covered with sprinkles and gummy bears?_' Oh! We can't forget about Ale Wife! '_Remember the time you got __**engaged**__ there?!_'"

"And what of your singing?" He asked. "You were amazing, Christine! You had three different auditions coming up for Broadway and four more for opera companies! You weren't even finished with school yet! Instead you dropped out of MSM and ran away back home!"

"Singing hasn't exactly had the same appeal recently." She said icily and he picked up on the hidden blame in her words.

"Christiiiiiine!"

"Where are you, Christine?!"

They both gave a startled jump at the sound of her name being called from just outside the alley with drunken slurs. "It's Meg and Tracey." Christine whispered as she turned to find them.

Erik quickly grabbed her around the waist and she felt a dizzying swirl of motion as he repeated the same graceful spin that had landed them in the alley. The next thing Christine knew she was backed up against the brick wall with Erik's hand covering her mouth. The cloak was spread over his shoulders in such a way that she knew that her friends would never spot her as they camouflaged in to the darkness.

"They can't see me." Erik whispered as he gazed down at her, those golden eyes still glowing beneath the hood he had replaced. "No one can know that I'm here."

Christine nodded and stood still as a statue as she heard the click clack of her friends' heels growing louder as they approached their current hideaway. Something inside her knew that she was going to have to keep his reappearance a secret. What was she going to do anyway? Call Raoul and tell him what had happened?

"**CHRISTIIIIIIINE!**" Tracey bellowed, earning a strange cackle from Meg.

Erik kept his eyes locked with hers as he tracked the girls' whereabouts. The couple immersed in the shadows were completely silent as they heard the girls walk past the alley's entrance and quickly continue on. Erik's tensed body seemed to relax a little when he realized that they had not been caught and he removed the hand from her mouth.

"Tomorrow at sunset," he said softly, "Meet me at your tree house."

"The tree house?" Christine asked. "What-"

"Chriiiiiistiiiiine!" She was interrupted by her friends as they began to sing from somewhere down the road. "You don't have to put on that red light! Those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the niiiight!"

Erik rolled his eyes as they continued on with their re-imagined song. "Your friends are both completely intoxicated. You should get them home."

"But I don't have my-"

She stopped when he held his hand up in front of her and she saw her keys hanging from his finger. She gave him a look of annoyance as she took them from him and noticed the slight, satisfied smirk that reached from beneath his mask. "That was not funny, by the way."

Erik merely smiled as she leaned back against the wall. She was not pleased about having to leave but she knew that he was right about needing to get the girls home, she wasn't sure she could live with herself if she inadvertently caused loss of another friend. "What about Matt?"

Erik's smile vanished as she brought up the boy. "What of him?"

"I can't exactly take those two back to my car if Matt's still knocked out and laying on the ground like that."

"He will be long gone far before you reach the lot." He almost sounded bored.

"And he'll be safe?" Erik averted his eyes. "_Erik_…"

He sighed. "No further harm will come to him."

Knowing that that was the best she was going to get she nodded. "Tomorrow, then."

Erik nodded. "Tomorrow."

"Don't you dare be late." Christine turned to walk away and find her friends but she was abruptly stopped by Erik's hand finding her waist again.

"One more thing." He pulled her body flush against his and met her lips in a strong, lingering kiss. It was a bit awkward with the mask but Christine found she hardly minded. His hand found the base of her neck and her own two came to rest upon his chest. All too soon their moment was over as he pulled away with a smirk. "I missed you, too."

She barely had a chance to process his words before he vanished.


End file.
